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Publication #SP 37

Creeping Wood Sorrel, Oxalis corniculata L. Southern Yellow Wood Sorrel, Oxalis florida Salisb.1

David W. Hall, Vernon V. Vandiver and Brent A. Sellers2

Classification

    • Common Name: Creeping Wood Sorrel

    • Scientific Name: Oxalis corniculata L.

    • Common Name: Southern Yellow Wood Sorrel

    • Scientific Name: Oxalis florida Salisb.

Family: Oxalidaceae, Wood Sorrel Family

Seedling

The stem is short and pink-brown (Figure 1). The cotyledon blades are often tinged pink on the lower surface and joined near the base. The trifoliate leaves are alternate, with thin, heart-shaped, leaflet blades having a distinct apical indention. The blades are smooth on the upper surface, slightly folded upward lengthwise along the major vein, and have a few appressed hairs along the veins on the lower surface and along the lower portion of the margins.

Figure 1. 

Seedling, Creeping Wood Sorrel, Oxalis corniculata L. Southern Yellow Wood Sorrel, Oxalis florida Salisb.

Mature Plant

These Wood Sorrels can be annual (Oxalis florida) or perennial (Oxalis corniculata) tap rooted herbs, bushy or mat forming, and 0.1-0.5 m tall (Figure 2). Branching from the base and often rooted at the nodes, the upper portion is ascending or weakly erect, smooth or hairy. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems. A single long stalk arises from the axils of the leaf, from which extend three flower stalks, each with a single flower. The flowers are 7-11 mm wide and have 5 yellow petals. The fruit is a capsule, 1-1.5 cm long, cylindric, pointed apically, and 5-ridged in cross section. The seeds are oval in outline, apically rounded, basally pointed, flattened in cross section, light brown, and have a surface distinctly transversely ridged. To distinguish between the two species, look for stolons on the soil surface. Only Oxalis corniculata will have stolons.

Figure 2. 

Mature plant, Creeping Wood Sorrel, Oxalis corniculata L. Southern Yellow Wood Sorrel, Oxalis florida Salisb.

History

The genus name Oxalis is a Greek word meaning sour. Sour refers to the acidic taste of the foliage. The Latin species name corniculata means horned and refers to the look of the fruits. The Latin species name florida means flowering.

Habitat

These weeds are found throughout Florida. They are common in the southeastern United States; from Newfoundland to North Dakota; and southward to Mexico. O. corniculata is a cosmopolitan weed occurring in the Old World and in temperate and tropical regions of North, Central and South America and the West Indies.

Biology

The foliage contains oxalic acid, which binds calcium leading to nutritional deficiencies in livestock and humans.

Footnotes

1.

This document is an excerpt from Weeds in Florida, SP 37, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: May 1991. Revised: March 2006. Please visit the EDIS Website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

David W. Hall, former extension botanist, Herbarium, Florida Museum of Natural History; Vernon V. Vandiver, associate professor emeritus, Agronomy Department; Brent A. Sellers, assistant professor, Agronomy Department, Range Cattle Research and Education Center--Ona, FL; Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.