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Oxalis pes-caprae

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My most humble plant.


It can form a thick mat.


The bright yellow flowers.


The bright yellow flowers.


Photo by  Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW.

Author: Carl Linnaeus, 1753
Family:  OXALIDACEAE
Origin:  South Africa, Namibia (and now many more!)
Soil:  Mix
Water:  Medium
Sun:  Maximum
Thickness:  2 Centimetres
Height:  10 Centimetres
Flower:  Bright Yellow
Propagate:  Roots/Bulblets
Names:  Bermuda buttercup, African wood-sorrel, Bermuda sorrel, Buttercup oxalis, Cape sorrel, English weed, Goat's-foot, Sourgrass, Soursob, Soursop
Synonyms:  Acetosella cernua, Kuntze, 1891.
Acetosella ehrenbergii,
Kuntze, 1891.
Oxalis burmannii
Jacq. 1794.
Oxalis concinna,
Salisb. 1796. 
Oxalis ehrenbergii Schltdl.
 1838.
Oxalis cernua
Thunb.1781.
Bolboxalis cernua Small, 1907. 
Oxalis grandiflora
Arechav. 1900.
Oxalis kuibisensis
R. Knuth, 1927.
Oxalis lybica
Viv.1824

This member of the Oxalidaceae family was described by Carl von Linnaeus in 1753. It was (first) found in Namibia and South Africa, growing in a well drained soil with some water and lots of sun. The long root will grow to two centimetres in diameter, the whole plant reach for ten centimetres - or way more, if it don't get light enough. The flowers are bright yellow, and the plant can be only be reproduced by dividing of the roots/bulblets.Phil Crooker have informed me: Globally, it is sterile (due to polypoidy, apparently.

The genera name means 'sharp, pungent', as to leaf taste. The species name means 'goat's foot'.


The roots by Daniel Feliciano, Portugal.


Photo of the leaves by Luigi Rignanese, Italy.