upright yellow woodsorrel
Oxalis stricta
Its seed pods act like tiny organic cannons; when ripe, they explode at the slightest touch, launching seeds up to several feet away.
- Scientific name
- Oxalis stricta
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Oxalidales › Oxalidaceae › Oxalis
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Fields, lawns, gardens, open woodlands, and disturbed soils
- Diet
- Autotrophic (produces energy via photosynthesis)
- Range
- North America, Europe, Asia
- Size
- 10 to 40 cm tall, with leaves 1 to 2 cm wide
- Lifespan
- 1 to 2 years (annual or short-lived perennial)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Widespread herbicide use, urban development, and aggressive lawn maintenance.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. This plant is safe to touch and observe at any distance. While edible with a pleasant, lemony tang, it should not be consumed in large quantities due to oxalic acid, which can interfere with calcium absorption. No special action is required upon contact.
Oxalis stricta , called the common yellow woodsorrel (or simply yellow woodsorrel ), common yellow oxalis , upright yellow-sorrel , lemon clover , or more ambiguously and informally " sourgrass " or "pickle plant", is a herbaceous plant native to North America, parts of Eurasia, and has a rare introduction in Britain. It tends to grow in woodlands, meadows, and in disturbed areas as both a perennial and annual. Erect when young, this plant later becomes decumbent as it lies down, and branches...
Photo: Bill Keim, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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