Yellow Woodsorrel

Oxalidaceae

LIFE FORM: Annnual

NATIVITY: North America

VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS:

This slender, unbranched plant grows anywhere from 2 inches to 18 inches tall; three-part, clover-like leaves fold up at night.

FLOWERS:

Bright yellow flowers have five petals and are about half an inch long; clusters of flowers are produced on long stalks that arise from leaf axils.

FRUIT/DISPERSAL AGENTS:

Exploding capsules eject seeds as far as 10 feet; plant also spreads by rhizomes.

ECOLOGICAL PREFERENCE:

Trampled lawns in public parks; neglected residential and commercial landscapes; minimally maintained public parks and open space; vacant lots and rubble dump sites; abandoned grasslands (meadows); small-scale pavement openings (tree pits) and cracks; rock outcrops and stone walls; unmowed highway banks and median strips with frequent salt applications.

ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTION:

Disturbance-adapted colonizer.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:

This plant can complete its entire life cycle in less than a month; the edible leaves have a sour taste as a result of the oxalic acid they contain.