Pink-sorrel is a South American wood sorrel grown in gardens for its clusters of bright pink flowers, and it has escaped into lawns and roadsides in parts of the US. It grows from a knobby, jointed underground stem that slowly builds into clumps.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A clump-forming perennial usually about 1 ft (30 cm) tall, sometimes up to 18 in (45 cm). Leaves and flower stalks come straight up from the ground.
- Leaves
- Each long leafstalk carries three heart-shaped leaflets, often with tiny orange dots underneath.
- Flowers
- Clusters of 3–12 pink to violet-pink flowers (sometimes white) sit above the leaves. The center of the flower is a darker purple-pink, and the are yellow.
Look-alikes
pink shamrockOxalis debilis
Pink shamrock has paler flowers overall and white anthers; pink-sorrel has a dark purple-pink center and yellow anthers. Underground, pink-sorrel has a knobby tuber, while pink shamrock has none.
Why they get mixed upBoth are pink-flowered garden escapes with heart-shaped leaflets.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- lawns
- roadsides
- vacant lots
- Range
- Native to northern Argentina, southern Brazil, and Uruguay. In the US it has been found growing outside gardens in the Southeast (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and North Carolina) and in California.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- It rarely sets seed and spreads mainly as its underground stems break apart.
Growing it
- Care
- Used as a border perennial and ground cover; hardy in USDA zones 7–9. It can go dormant in hot, dry summers if it isn't watered, then comes back from its underground stems.
- Toxicity
- Like other wood sorrels, it contains . Toxicity is low, but eating large amounts can be harmful, and it is listed as a problem for dogs, cats, and horses.
Name and classification
- About the name
- It was once called Oxalis rubra. That name now belongs to subspecies rubra, the windowbox wood-sorrel of gardens.
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.