Common Wood Sorrel

(Oxalis montana)

 

   

 

 

Color Photograph: Copyright Nearctica.com, Inc.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Common Wood Sorrel (Oxalis montana Raf.)

Identification: Flowers white with 5 petals in a rosette. Flower petals with fine gray to pink lines. Flower center with a circle of yellow stames. Leaves cloverlike with 3 leaflets. Each leaflet with a apical notch and a central fold line. Leaves with the astringent flavor of oxalis acid (as in rubarb). Plant 3 to 4 inches in height.

Distribution: Canada from Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan. Southward to the northern United States, and further south in the mountains as far as North Carolina and Georgia. Also native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa.

Habitat: Common Wodd Sorrel is a cool, woodland species

Flowering period: May to July.

Similar Species: The Oxalis cloverlike leaves and the white, lined flowers make this an easily identified species.

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