E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Oxalis corniculata L.
yellow oxalis (creeping woodsorrel)
Oxalidaceae (Wood-Sorrel family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Oxalis corniculata
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a slender taproot; stems decumbent to ascending, simple, many, rough hairy, trailing ones freely rooting, herbage brownish to reddish-purple, 5-10 cm tall/long.

Leaves:
Basal leaves few, reduced; stem leaves alternate, long stalked, clover-like, the blades 1-4 cm long, the leaflets broadly heart-shaped, folded towards each other; stipules linear to oblanceolate, often brownish, 1.5-4 mm long.

Flowers:
Inflorescence 2- to 5-flowered on stalks 2-10 cm long; petals yellow, 4-8 mm long, entire; sepals 2-4.5 mm long.

Fruits:
Capsules, oblong, 1.5-2.5 cm long, greyish rough-hairy; seeds brown, cross-wrinkled.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic fields and waste places in the lowland zone; frequent on S Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and adjacent coast; introduced from Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Acetosella corniculata (L.) Kuntze
Oxalis corniculata var. atropurpurea Planch.
Oxalis corniculata var. langloisii (Small) Wieg.
Oxalis corniculata var. lupulina (R. Knuth) Zucc.
Oxalis corniculata var. macrophylla Arsene ex R. Knuth
Oxalis corniculata var. minor Laing
Oxalis corniculata var. reptans Laing
Oxalis corniculata var. villosa (Bieb.) Hohen.
Oxalis corniculata var. viscidula Wieg.
Oxalis langloisii (Small) Fedde
Oxalis pusilla Salisb.
Oxalis repens
Oxalis villosa Bieb.
Xanthoxalis corniculata (L.) Small
Xanthoxalis corniculata var. atropurpurea (Planch.) Moldenke
Xanthoxalis langloisii Small
Xanthoxalis repens (Thunb.) Moldenke

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-13 2:47:26 PM ]

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