Creeping Wood-sorrel
Oxalis corniculata
Photographed in an urban garden in Glendale, Arizona, USA, April 2009.
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HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL: With the mild winter temperatures in the Sonoran
Desert this urban garden weed survives year to year upon a fleshy taproot. The
plants are rarely more than a few cm tall growing along the ground rooting at
the nodes to spread.
LEAVES: Compound leaves have usu. three heart-shaped leaflets radially
arranged. Leaves contain oxalic acid, source of edible tartness, but toxic in
quantity. Color may range to maroon or purple.
FLOWERS: Yellow five-petaled flowers are small, but very bright.
RANGE: Found throughout North America, but in the Sonoran Desert it is
rare occurring only in very mesic habitats but commonly in over-watered
gardens.
FRUIT: Erect fleshy fruits dry and then pop open explosively to disperse
the seeds.
UNARMED