Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Ontario Weeds: Common yellow wood-sorrel

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Table of Contents

1. Name
2. Other Names
3. Family
4. General Description
   • Photos and Pictures
5. Habitat
6. Similar Species
7. For more information...

Name: Common yellow wood-sorrel, Oxalis dillenii Jacq.,

Other Names: oxalide de Dillenius, Oxalis, Sour-clover, Oxalis stricta misapplied

Family: Oxalis Family (Oxalidaceae)

General Description: Common yellow wood-sorrel is somewhat grayish-green because of very short, closely appressed hairs; its stems lack the long hair, and after flowering, the stalks of its seedpods bend at the nodes and become more or less zig-zagged so they resemble the letters "N" or "Z". Other technical differences that distinguish among these wood-sorrels are beyond the scope of this book.

Photos and Pictures

Common yellow wood sorrel. B. Plant.

Habitat: Occasional weeds in lawns, gardens and waste areas throughout Ontario.

Similar Species: This are distinguished from Black medick by their leaflets being heart-shaped, the absence of a distinct stalk for one of the three leaflets (characteristic of Black medick), their yellow flowers having 5 uniformly shaped petals, and their long, narrow seedpods containing several seeds. The leaves of these wood-sorrels resemble those of the shamrock (a variety of White clover, Trifolium repens L.) and have a characteristically sour taste (hence, one of their common names being "sour-clover").

For more information...

... on weed identification, order OMAFRA Publication 505: Ontario Weeds

... on weed control, order OMAFRA Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control

...on weeds in field crops, contact Mike Cowbrough (mike.cowbrough@ontario.ca), Weed Management Specialist (Field Crops), OMAFRA
...on weeds in horticultural crops, contact Kristen Callow (kristen.callow@ontario.ca), Weed Management Specialist (Hort Crops), OMAFRA

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