''Oxalis'' ( (American English) or (British English)) is a large
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the wood-sorrel family
Oxalidaceae
The Oxalidaceae, or wood sorrel family, are a small family of five genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs and small trees, with the great majority of the 570 species in the genus ''Oxalis'' (wood sorrels). Members of this family typically have divid ...
, comprising over 550 species.
The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the
polar
Polar may refer to:
Geography
Polar may refer to:
* Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates
* Polar climate, the c ...
areas; species diversity is particularly rich in tropical
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
Many of the species are known as wood sorrels (sometimes written "woodsorrels" or "wood-sorrels") as they have an acidic taste reminiscent of the sorrel proper (''
Rumex acetosa''), which is only distantly related. Some species are called yellow sorrels or pink sorrels after the color of their flowers instead. Other species are colloquially known as false
shamrock
A shamrock is a young sprig, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. The name ''shamrock'' comes from Irish (), which is the diminutive of ...
s, and some called
sourgrass Sourgrass is a common name given to several plant species which have a sour taste. Most are in fact not Poaceae, grasses:
True grasses
* ''Digitaria insularis'' (sourgrass)
*''Paspalum conjugatum'' (carabao grass)
Other
* ''Oxalis'' species (w ...
es. For the genus as a whole, the term oxalises is also used.
Description and ecology
![Oxalis floral diagram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Oxalis_floral_diagram.jpg)
These plants are
annual
Annual may refer to:
*Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
** Yearbook
** Literary annual
*Annual plant
*Annual report
*Annual giving
*Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
*Annuals (band), ...
or
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
. The leaves are divided into three to ten or more obovate and top-notched leaflets, arranged palmately with all the leaflets of roughly equal size. The majority of species have three leaflets; in these species, the leaves are superficially similar to those of some
clover
Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...
s. Some species exhibit rapid changes in leaf angle in response to temporarily high light intensity to decrease
photoinhibition
Photoinhibition is light-induced reduction in the photosynthetic capacity of a plant, alga, or cyanobacterium. Photosystem II (PSII) is more sensitive to light than the rest of the photosynthetic machinery, and most researchers define the term ...
.
The flowers have five petals, which are usually fused at the base, and ten
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s. The petal color varies from white to pink, red or yellow;
anthocyanin
Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart gave the name Anthokyan to a chemical compo ...
s and
xanthophyll
Xanthophylls (originally phylloxanthins) are yellow pigments that occur widely in nature and form one of two major divisions of the carotenoid group; the other division is formed by the carotenes. The name is from Greek (, "yellow") and (, "l ...
s may be present or absent but are generally not both present together in significant quantities, meaning that few wood-sorrels have bright orange flowers. The fruit is a small
capsule containing several seeds. The roots are often tuberous and succulent, and several species also reproduce vegetatively by production of
bulbils
A bulbil (also referred to as bulbel, bulblet, and/or pup) is a small, young plant that is reproduced vegetatively from axillary buds on the parent plant's stem or in place of a flower on an inflorescence. These young plants are clones of the p ...
, which detach to produce new plants.
![Lyc oviposit](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Lyc_oviposit.jpg)
Several ''Oxalis'' species dominate the plant life in local woodland ecosystems, be it
Coast Range ecoregion of the
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
, or the
Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest
The Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest (STIF) is dry sclerophyll forest community of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is typically found in the Inner West and Northern region of Sydney. It is also among the three of these plant communitie ...
in southeastern Australia where least yellow sorrel (''
O. exilis'') is common. In the United Kingdom and neighboring Europe, common wood sorrel (''
O. acetosella'') is the typical woodland member of this genus, forming large swaths in the typical mixed deciduous forests dominated by downy birch (''
Betula pubescens
''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...
'') and sessile oak (''
Quercus petraea
''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial emble ...
''), by sycamore maple (''
Acer pseudoplatanus
''Acer pseudoplatanus'', known as the sycamore in the British Isles and as the sycamore maple in the United States, is a species of flowering plant in the Sapindus, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved ...
''),
common bracken (''Pteridium aquilinum''), pedunculate oak (''
Q. robur'') and
blackberries
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family (biology), family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus' ...
(''Rubus fruticosus'' agg.), or by common ash (''
Fraxinus excelsior
''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albor ...
''),
dog's mercury
''Mercurialis perennis'', commonly known as dog's mercury, is a poisonous woodland plant found in much of Europe as well as in Algeria, Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus, but almost absent from Ireland, Orkney and Shetland.Sorbus aucuparia
''Sorbus aucuparia'', commonly called rowan (UK: /ˈrəʊən/, US: /ˈroʊən/) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. It is a highly variable species, and botanists have used different Circumscription (taxo ...
''); it is also common in woods of common juniper (''
Juniperus communis
''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the coo ...
'' ssp. ''communis''). Some species – notably
Bermuda-buttercup (''O. pes-caprae'') and
creeping woodsorrel (''O. corniculata'') – are pernicious, invasive weeds when escaping from cultivation outside their native ranges; the ability of most wood-sorrels to store reserve energy in their tubers makes them quite resistant to most weed control techniques.
A 2019 study suggested that species from this
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixing
''Bacillus'' endophytes, storing them in plant tissues and seeds, which could explain its ability to spread rapidly even in poor soils.
Tuberous woodsorrels provide food for certain small
herbivore
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
s – such as the
Montezuma quail
The Montezuma quail (''Cyrtonyx montezumae'') is a stubby, secretive New World quail of Mexico and some nearby parts of the United States. It is also known as Mearns's quail, the harlequin quail (for the male's striking pattern), and the fool q ...
(''Cyrtonyx montezumae''). The foliage is eaten by some
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...
, such as the
Polyommatini
Polyommatini is a tribe of lycaenid butterflies in the subfamily of Polyommatinae. These were extensively studied by Russian novelist and lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov.
Genera
Genera in this tribe include:
* ''Actizera''
* '' Acytolepis''
* '' ...
pale grass blue (''Pseudozizeeria maha'') – which feeds on creeping wood sorrel and others – and
dark grass blue (''Zizeeria lysimon'').
''Oxalis'' species are susceptible to
rust
Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH ...
(''
Puccinia oxalidis'').
Use by humans
As food
Wood sorrel (a type of oxalis) is an edible wild plant that has been consumed by humans around the world for millennia.
[https://books.google.com/books?id=rVrteo-8cI0C ''Handbook of Edible Weeds'' By Dr. James A. Duke, pp. 140-141] In Dr. James Duke's ''Handbook of Edible Weeds,'' he notes that the Native American
Kiowa
Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and eve ...
people chewed wood sorrel to alleviate thirst on long trips, the
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...
cooked it with sugar to make a dessert, the
Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
considered it an
aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...
, the Cherokee ate wood sorrel to alleviate mouth sores and a sore throat, and the
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
ate wood sorrel to help with cramps, fever and nausea.
![Oca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Oca.jpg)
The fleshy, juicy edible
tuber
Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...
s of the
oca (''O. tuberosa'') have long been cultivated for food in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
and elsewhere in the northern
Andes mountains
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...
of
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. It is grown and sold in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
as "New Zealand yam" (although not a true yam), and varieties are now available in yellow, orange, apricot, and pink, as well as the traditional red-orange.
The leaves of scurvy-grass sorrel (''O. enneaphylla'') were eaten by
sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
s travelling around
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...
as a source of
vitamin C
Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) an ...
to avoid
scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...
.
In
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, creeping wood sorrel (''O. corniculata'') is eaten only seasonally, starting in December–January. The
Bodos
Boro (बर'/बड़ो ), also called Bodo, is the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Assam state of India. They are a part of the greater Bodo-Kachari family of ethnolinguistic groups and are spread across northeastern India. They are ...
of north east India sometimes prepare a sour fish curry with its leaves. The leaves of common wood sorrel (''
O. acetosella'') may be used to make a lemony-tasting tea when dried.
For its oxalic acid content
![Oxalis versicolor (candycane sorrel)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Oxalis_versicolor_%28candycane_sorrel%29.jpg)
A characteristic of members of this genus is that they contain
oxalic acid
Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and formula . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name comes from the fact that early inve ...
(whose name references the genus), giving the leaves and flowers a sour taste which can make them refreshing to chew. The crude calcium oxalate ranges from 13 to 25 mg/g fresh weight for woodsorrel as compared to 1.3 to 1.8 mg/g for spinach. In very large amounts, oxalic acid may be considered slightly
toxic
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...
, interfering with proper
digestion
Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food molecules into small water-soluble food molecules so that they can be absorbed into the watery blood plasma. In certain organisms, these smaller substances are absorbed through the small intest ...
and
kidney
The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...
function. However, oxalic acid is also present in more commonly consumed foods such as
spinach
Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...
,
broccoli
Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Broccoli is cl ...
,
brussels sprouts
The Brussels sprout is a member of the Gemmifera cultivar group of cabbages (''Brassica oleracea''), grown for its edible buds. The leaf vegetables are typically 1.5–4.0 cm (0.6–1.6 in) in diameter and resemble miniature cabbages ...
,
grapefruit
The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink.
Grapefruit is ...
,
chives
Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and ...
, and
rhubarb
Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhizo ...
, among many others. A non-medical expert summary is that, on the one hand, the risk of sheer toxicity, actual poisoning from oxalic acid in persons with normal kidney function is "wildly unlikely", while, in the other hand, the mechanical effects of crystals of
calcium oxalate
Calcium oxalate (in archaic terminology, oxalate of lime) is a calcium salt of oxalic acid with the chemical formula . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' varies from 1 to 3. Anhydrous and all hydrated forms are colorless or white. The monohydrate ...
contribute substantially to some pathological conditions, such as
gout
Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...
and (especially)
nephrolithiasis
Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the body in the urine s ...
.
While any oxalic acid-containing plant, such as ''Oxalis'', is toxic to humans in some dosage, the U.S. National Institutes of Health note that oxalic acid is present in many foodstuffs found in the supermarket and its toxicity is generally of little or no consequence for people who eat a variety of foods.
In the past, it was a practice to extract crystals of
calcium oxalate
Calcium oxalate (in archaic terminology, oxalate of lime) is a calcium salt of oxalic acid with the chemical formula . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' varies from 1 to 3. Anhydrous and all hydrated forms are colorless or white. The monohydrate ...
for use in treating diseases and as a
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
called ''sal acetosella'' or
"sorrel salt" (also known as "salt of lemon"). Growing oca tuber
root cap
The root cap is a type of tissue at the tip of a plant root. It is also called calyptra. Root caps contain statocytes which are involved in gravity perception in plants. If the cap is carefully removed the root will grow randomly. The root cap ...
s are covered in a
fluorescent
Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...
slush rich in
harmaline
Harmaline is a fluorescent indole alkaloid from the group of harmala alkaloids and beta-carbolines. It is the partly hydrogenated form of harmine.
Occurrence in nature
Various plants contain harmaline including ''Peganum harmala'' (Syrian rue) ...
and
harmine
Harmine is a beta-carboline and a harmala alkaloid. It occurs in a number of different plants, most notably the Syrian rue and ''Banisteriopsis caapi''. Harmine reversibly inhibits monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), an enzyme which breaks down monoamin ...
which apparently suppresses
pests. Creeping wood sorrel and perhaps other species are apparently
hyperaccumulator A hyperaccumulator is a plant capable of growing in soil or water with very high concentrations of metals, absorbing these metals through their roots, and concentrating extremely high levels of metals in their tissues. The metals are concentrated a ...
s of
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
. The
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
text ''Precious Secrets of the Realm of the King of Xin'' from 1421 describes how ''O. corniculata'' can be used to locate copper deposits as well as for
geobotanical prospecting Geobotanical prospecting refers to prospecting based on indicator plants like metallophytes and the analysis of vegetation. For example, the Viscaria Mine in Sweden was named after the plant '' Silene suecica'' (syn. '' Viscaria alpina'') that was ...
. It thus ought to have some potential for
phytoremediation
Phytoremediation technologies use living plants to clean up soil, air and water contaminated with hazardous contaminants. It is defined as "the use of green plants and the associated microorganisms, along with proper soil amendments and agronom ...
of contaminated soils.
As ornamental plants
![Double-flowered Oxalis compressa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Double-flowered_Oxalis_compressa.JPG)
Several species are grown as
pot plant
Container gardening or pot gardening/farming is the practice of growing plants, including edible plants, exclusively in containers instead of planting them in the ground. A container in gardening is a small, enclosed and usually portable object ...
s or as
ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
s in
garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...
s, for example, ''O. versicolor''.
Oxalis flowers range in colour from whites to yellow, peaches, pink, or multi-coloured flowers.
Some varieties have double flowers, for example the double form of ''O. compressus''. Some varieties are grown for their foliage, such as the dark purple-leaved ''O. triangularis''.
Species with four regular leaflets – in particular ''
O. tetraphylla'' (four-leaved pink-sorrel) – are sometimes misleadingly sold as "four-leaf
clover
Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...
", taking advantage of the mystical status of
four-leaf clover
The four-leaf clover is a rare variation of the common three-leaf clover. According to traditional sayings, such clovers bring good luck, though it is not clear when or how this idea began. One early mention of "Fower-leafed or purple grasse" is ...
.
Selected species
![Oxalis tetraphylla leaves](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Oxalis_tetraphylla_leaves.jpg)
* ''
Oxalis acetosella
''Oxalis acetosella'', the wood sorrel or common wood sorrel, is a rhizomatous flowering plant in the family '' Oxalidaceae'', common in most of Europe and parts of Asia. The specific epithet ''acetosella'' refers to its sour taste. The common ...
'' – common wood sorrel, stabwort
* ''
Oxalis adenophylla'' – Chilean oxalis, silver shamrock
* ''
Oxalis albicans'' – hairy woodsorrel, white oxalis, radishroot woodsorrel, radishroot yellow-sorrel, California yellow-sorrel
* ''
Oxalis alpina'' – alpine sorrel
* ''
Oxalis ambigua
''Oxalis ambigua'' is a species from the subgenus ''Oxalis''.
Taxonomy
The taxon name ''Oxalis ambigua'' was first described by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin. Different ranking exists. The species is either from the subgenus ''Oxalis'' or from ...
''
* ''
Oxalis articulata''
Savign. – pink-sorrel
* ''
Oxalis ausensis''
* ''
Oxalis barrelieri'' – lavender sorrel
* ''
Oxalis bowiei'' – Bowie's wood-sorrel, Cape shamrock
* ''
Oxalis brasiliensis
''Oxalis brasiliensis'', also known by its common name Brazilian woodsorrel is a species from the Section (botany), section ''Oxalis sect. Ionoxalis, Ionoxalis''. It was first described by Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga.
Description
''Oxalis brasili ...
'' – Brazilian woodsorrel
* ''
Oxalis caerulea
''Oxalis caerulea'', the blue woodsorrel, is a perennial plant and herb in the family Oxalidaceae. It is native to the southwestern United States.
A similar species is the tenleaf pink-sorrel ('' Oxalis decaphylla'').
References
caerulea
...
'' – blue woodsorrel
* ''
Oxalis caprina''
* ''
Oxalis corniculata
''Oxalis corniculata'', the creeping woodsorrel, procumbent yellow sorrel or sleeping beauty, is a somewhat delicate-appearing, low-growing herbaceous plant in the family Oxalidaceae. It resembles the common yellow woodsorrel, ''Oxalis stricta'' ...
'' – creeping wood sorrel, procumbent yellow-sorrel, sleeping beauty, ''chichoda bhaji'' (India)
* ''
Oxalis debilis''
Kunth
* ''
Oxalis decaphylla
''Oxalis'' ( (American English) or (British English)) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species d ...
'' – ten-leaved pink-sorrel, tenleaf wood sorrel
* ''
Oxalis dehradunensis''
* ''
Oxalis depressa''
* ''
Oxalis dichondrifolia'' – peonyleaf wood sorrel
* ''
Oxalis dillenii''
Jacquin – southern yellow woodsorrel, Dillen's woodsorrel, Sussex yellow-sorrel
* ''
Oxalis drummondii'' – Drummond's woodsorrel, chevron oxalis
* ''
Oxalis ecuadorensis
''Oxalis ecuadorensis'' is a species of plant in the family Oxalidaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, ...
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Oxalis enneaphylla
''Oxalis enneaphylla'', or scurvy grass, is a late spring- and summer-flowering, rhizomatous, alpine perennial herbaceous plant native to the grasslands of Patagonia and the Falkland Islands. It is a small plant that grows to high and across, w ...
'' – scurvy-grass sorrel
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Oxalis exilis
''Oxalis exilis'' is a small herbaceous plant found in Australia and New Zealand. It is mainly found in hillsides and weedy areas. It is the smallest species of ''Oxalis
''Oxalis'' ( (American English) or (British English)) is a large genus ...
'' – least yellow-sorrel
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Oxalis frutescens'' – shrubby wood-sorrel
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Oxalis gigantea''
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Oxalis glabra
''Oxalis glabra'' is a member of the wood-sorrel family, Oxalidaceae. It is only one of the 800 total species belonging to this family. The plant is commonly known as finger-leaf due to its trifoliate leaf structure. This trifoliate structure ca ...
'' – finger-leaf
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Oxalis grandis
''Oxalis grandis,'' commonly known as great yellow woodsorrel or large yellow wood sorrel, is an annual plant and herb in the woodsorrel family. It is native to the eastern United States from Georgia north to Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, west as ...
'' – great yellow-sorrel, large yellow woodsorrel
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Oxalis griffithii
''Oxalis griffithii'' is a species of ''Oxalis'' found in thickets and meadows of Bhutan, China, India, and Japan.
Description
''O. griffithii'' is a perennial that reaches in height. It is a stemless, pubescent. rhizome, densely covered by dar ...
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Edgew. & Hook.f.
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Oxalis hedysaroides'' – fire fern
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Oxalis hirta'' – hairy sorrel
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Oxalis illinoensis
''Oxalis illinoensis'', the Illinois woodsorrel, is a species of flowering plant in the Oxalidaceae, woodsorrel family (Oxalidaceae). It is endemism, endemic to the United States, where it found in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The ...
'' – Illinois wood-sorrel
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Oxalis inaequalis''
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Oxalis incarnata''
L. – pale pink-sorrel
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Oxalis lasiandra'' – Mexican shamrock
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Oxalis latifolia
''Oxalis latifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the Oxalidaceae, woodsorrel family known by the common names garden pink-sorrel and broadleaf woodsorrel. It is native to Mexico and parts of Central and South America.
Description
This is ...
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Kunth – garden pink-sorrel
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Oxalis luederitzii''
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Oxalis luteola''
Jacq.
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Oxalis magellanica''
G.Forst.
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Oxalis magnifica
''Oxalis magnifica'' is an ''Oxalis'' species found in Oaxaca, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is ...
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Kunth – snowdrop wood-sorrel
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Oxalis massoniana''
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Oxalis megalorrhiza'' – fleshy yellow-sorrel
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Oxalis melanosticta''
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Oxalis micrantha
''Oxalis micrantha'', or dwarf woodsorrel, is a flowering dicot of the genus ''Oxalis
''Oxalis'' ( (American English) or (British English)) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 spec ...
'' – dwarf woodsorrel
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Oxalis montana
''Oxalis montana'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Oxalidaceae known by the common names mountain woodsorrel, wood shamrock, sours and white woodsorrel. It may also be called common woodsorrel, though this name also applies to its ...
'' – mountain woodsorrel, white woodsorrel
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Oxalis nelsonii
''Oxalis'' ( (American English) or (British English)) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species d ...
'' – Nelson's sorrel
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Oxalis norlindiana
''Oxalis norlindiana'' is a species of plant in the family Oxalidaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, ...
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Oxalis obliquifolia''
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Oxalis oregana'' – redwood sorrel, Oregon sorrel
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Oxalis ortgiesii''
Regel – fishtail oxalis
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Oxalis pennelliana''
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Oxalis pes-caprae
''Oxalis pes-caprae'' (African wood-sorrel, Bermuda buttercup, Bermuda sorrel, buttercup oxalis, Cape sorrel, English weed, goat's-foot, sourgrass, soursob or soursop; ) is a species of tristylous yellow-flowering plant in the wood sorrel famil ...
'' – Bermuda-buttercup, African wood-sorrel, Bermuda sorrel, buttercup oxalis, Cape sorrel, English weed, soursob, "
goat's-foot", "
sourgrass Sourgrass is a common name given to several plant species which have a sour taste. Most are in fact not Poaceae, grasses:
True grasses
* ''Digitaria insularis'' (sourgrass)
*''Paspalum conjugatum'' (carabao grass)
Other
* ''Oxalis'' species (w ...
", soursop (not to be confused with
the fruit of that name)
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Oxalis priceae'' – tufted yellow-sorrel
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Oxalis pulchella
''Oxalis pulchella'' is a species from the genus ''Oxalis
''Oxalis'' ( (American English) or (British English)) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throug ...
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Oxalis purpurea
''Oxalis purpurea'' is a species of flowering plant in the Oxalidaceae, woodsorrel family known by the common name purple woodsorrel. It is native to southern Africa, including South Africa, but it is known on most continents as an introduced spe ...
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L. – purple wood-sorrel
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Oxalis rosea''
Feuillée ex Jacq. – annual pink-sorrel
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Oxalis rubra''
A.St.-Hil. – red wood-sorrel
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Oxalis rufescens''
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Oxalis rugeliana'' – coamo
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Oxalis schaeferi''
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Oxalis spiralis'' – spiral sorrel, volcanic sorrel, velvet oxalis
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Oxalis stricta
''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", "sheep weed", or "pickle plant", is a herbaceous pla ...
'' – common yellow woodsorrel, common yellow oxalis, upright yellow-sorrel, lemon clover, "
pickle plant Pickle plant is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
* '' Delosperma echinatum'', a succulent plant native to South Africa
* '' Kleinia stapeliiformis'', a succulent plant native to South Africa
* ''Oxalis stricta
''Oxalis stricta' ...
", "
sourgrass Sourgrass is a common name given to several plant species which have a sour taste. Most are in fact not Poaceae, grasses:
True grasses
* ''Digitaria insularis'' (sourgrass)
*''Paspalum conjugatum'' (carabao grass)
Other
* ''Oxalis'' species (w ...
, "yellow woodsorrel"
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Oxalis suksdorfii
''Oxalis suksdorfii'' is a species of flowering plant in the woodsorrel family known by the common name western yellow woodsorrel and Suksdorf's woodsorrel. It is native to the western coast of the United States from Washington to northern Calif ...
'' – western yellow woodsorrel, western yellow oxalis
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Oxalis tenuifolia'' – thinleaf sorrel
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Oxalis tetraphylla
''Oxalis tetraphylla'' (often traded under its synonym ''O. deppei'') is a bulbous herbaceous perennial plant from Mexico. It is sometimes sold as lucky clover or shamrock (even if it isn't a clover). In the wild or feral state it is often calle ...
'' – four-leaved pink-sorrel, four-leaf sorrel,
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...
oxalis, "
lucky clover
The four-leaf clover is a rare variation of the common three-leaf clover. According to traditional sayings, such clovers bring good luck, though it is not clear when or how this idea began. One early mention of "Fower-leafed or purple grasse" is ...
"
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Oxalis triangularis
''Oxalis triangularis'', commonly called false shamrock, is a species of perennial plant in the family Oxalidaceae. It is native to several countries in southern South America. This woodsorrel is typically grown as a houseplant but can be grown ...
'' – threeleaf purple shamrock
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Oxalis trilliifolia'' – great oxalis, threeleaf woodsorrel
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Oxalis tuberosa
''Oxalis tuberosa'' is a perennial herbaceous plant that overwinters as underground stem tubers. These tubers are known as uqa in Quechua, oca in Spanish, yam in New Zealand and a number of other alternative names. The plant was brought into cult ...
'' – oca, oka, New Zealand yam
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Oxalis valdiviensis
''Oxalis valdiviensis'', the Chilean yellow-sorrel, is an ''Oxalis'' species found in Chile and Argentina.
References
External links
*
*
Oxalis, valdiviensis
{{Oxalidales-stub ...
'' – Chilean yellow-sorrel
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Oxalis virginea'' – virgin wood-sorrel
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Oxalis versicolor
''Oxalis versicolor'' or candy cane sorrel is a species of flowering plant in the family Oxalidaceae found in South Africa.
A bulbous perennial, it grows to forming a mound of fresh green leaves, each leaf composed of three elongated leaflets. ...
'' – candycane sorrel
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Oxalis violacea'' – violet wood-sorrel
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Oxalis vulcanicola'' – volcanic sorrel or velvet oxalis
References
Further reading
* Bais, Harsh Pal; Park, Sang-Wook; Stermitz, Frank R.; Halligan, Kathleen M. & Vivanco, Jorge M. (2002): Exudation of fluorescent β-carbolines from ''Oxalis tuberosa'' L. roots. ''
Phytochemistry'' 61(5): 539–543.
PDF fulltext* Bais, Harsh Pal; Vepachedu, Ramarao & Vivanco, Jorge M. (2003): Root specific elicitation and exudation of fluorescent β-carbolines in transformed root cultures of ''Oxalis tuberosa. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry'' 41(4): 345-353.
Preprint PDF fulltext* Łuczaj, Łukasz (2008): Archival data on wild food plants used in Poland in 1948. ''Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine'' 4: 4.
PDF fulltext
{{Taxonbar, from=Q157378
Oxalidales genera