Yellow Wood Sorrel

Oxalis stricta at first glance may strike you (as it did me) as a clover plant based on its leaves — but not on its flowers! Wood sorrel for me is always a delightful perennial to spot in the woods, maybe not so much for owners attempting to maintain their lawns, but certainly for those who also appreciate the plants’ decorative leaves and dainty yellow flowers. Flowers are about 1/2 inch across with 5 open petals rising on stems from the whorl of three heart-shaped leaves below. Bloom time starts in June and goes through frost. Like our friends the clovers, leaves are palmate-compound in 3s, green but sometimes dark reddish-purple. Like other Oxalis plants, the leaflets endearingly fold up close together at night, only to open again in the light of the morning. Native to our region.