Wild, Tasty Woodsorrel

Chris Stepnitz
Jul 21, 2017 · 3 min read

This stuff grows everywhere, starting in late spring. I’ve pulled bushels of it out of my gardens over the years. Common Yellow Woodsorrel, or Oxalis stricta, is easy to recognize and delicious. Eat at your own risk, however, and in small quantities! Read further to find out why.

Common Yellow Woodsorrel. Oxalis stricta.

You’ve definitely seen this growing in the sunshine! Delicate looking clover with yellow flowers. It tastes lemony. It’s actually quite good, but should be eaten in moderation as they are very high in oxalic acid (wildflower.org) which is hard on the kidneys and joints.

The cloverlike leaves and flowers are the best part to eat. The stems get woody, so you can eat only the tender ones. The seed pods are also edible.

Common Yellow Woodsorrel, O. stricta.

And this little plant is actually native! Most of the Oxalis family is native to North America, so almost anything you see that looks like this plant will be a native (USDA).

There are a number of other Woodsorrel varieties around. Some have yellow flowers and some of the mountain varieties have pink. A few appear to be cultivated for the blossoms.

This one is distinct because of the dainty trifoliate (three-leaflet) leaves, yellow flowers with 5 petals, and seed pods that (mostly) stick up at a funny angle to the tiny branches.

Oxalis stricta blossom.

The flower itself is very small, usually about a quarter-inch across. It has five petals, yellow, and the petals can be rounded or notched at the end like these are. Sometimes the flowers are rather trumpet-shaped from the side before they open fully (Illinois Wildflowers.org).

Oxalis stricta with upright seed pods.

The seed capsules are a little hairy and (mostly) stick up at a funny angle.

Interestingly, Wildflower.org says that there is a nearly identical O. dillenii from Europe where the seed capsules don’t stick up like this. However, USDA lists the European O. dillenii as a synonym for O. stricta, meaning they are the same plant.

However, looking at gobotany.net, they are distinct. You can tell them apart by the hairs on the stem. I actually couldn’t get a good enough picture with my camera, BUT apparently the tiny tiny tiny hairs on the stem tell you which you have. If the hairs stick out from the stem, you have the native O. stricta. If they lay flat along the stem, you have the European O. dillenii. As far as I can tell in the sun, the tiny hairs are sticking out, so we have O. stricta.

Oxalis stricta unripe seeds.

You can apparently also tell from the RIPE seeds. O. stricta has solid brown/grey seeds. O. dillenii has stripey ones with a slight texture. Unfortunately I don’t have any ripe seeds to check. In a few weeks once they’re ripe, I’ll let you know if I misidentified these.

Our many parks and green spaces hold thousands of plant varieties of interest. Let’s explore the region and see what we find! Updates MWF.

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Chris Stepnitz

Written by

Maryland Wild Plants
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