Procumbent Yellow-sorrel - Oxalis corniculata

Description

Low to short rather hairy plant with creeping stems rooting at the nodes. Bronze-coloured leaves alternate, long stalked; leaflets heart shaped. Flowers yellow with petals 4 to 7 mm, in small 1 to 7 flowered umbels.

Similar Species

Oxalis exilis

Identification difficulty
ID guidance

Often purplish bronze leaves.  Larger plant, inflorescences several-flowered; 10 stamens, usually all with anthers

Recording advice

Close up of flowers showing stamens

Habitat

Dry, open places, often around habitation.

When to see it

Perennial.

Life History

Probably naturalised from garden escapes. It is an annual or short lived perennial, the main means of spread is by seed, ejected from its ripe seed pods.

UK Status

Fairly frequent in most of England and Wales, rather rare and localised in Scotland.

VC55 Status

Fairly frequent and possibly increasing in built up areas in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 34 of the 617 tetrads.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Sleeping Beauty, Procumbent Yellow-sorrel
Species group:
Wildflowers
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Oxalidales
Family:
Oxalidaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
68
First record:
05/06/2007 (Calow, Graham)
Last record:
17/06/2023 (Mabbett, Craig)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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