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Oxalidaceae
Wood Sorrel
Oxalis acetosella
hidden charm.
- Family
- Oxalidaceae
- Genus
- Oxalis
- Native to
- Europe, Asia, North America
- Bloom season
- Spring
- Type
- perennial herb
- Height
- 0.1-0.4 ft
- Sunlight
- shade to part shade
- Soil
- moist, humus-rich, acidic
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 3-7
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- Wood sorrel leaves fold down flat at night and during heavy rain — a rapid response to darkness called nyctinasty that protects the leaflets from cold.
- The leaves are rich in oxalic acid, giving them a tart, lemony flavor — Celtic peoples called it 'sour trefoil' and ate it like a vitamin C supplement in early spring.
- It produces two types of flowers: the showy open flowers that rarely set seed, and small self-fertilizing cleistogamous flowers underground that produce abundant seeds.
- Because it has three heart-shaped leaflets, wood sorrel is often mistaken for clover — and some historians believe it (not true clover) was St. Patrick's original shamrock.
- It spreads by explosive seed dispersal — ripe capsules burst open with enough force to scatter seeds 3–6 feet from the parent plant.
Color meanings
0
joy
1
maternal tenderness
2
delicate strength