# 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.

- **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.

## About

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...

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/c4183319-4244-4a76-96f2-12d2980d7724
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/53183
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis stricta
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/48483396/medium.jpg (Bill Keim, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.