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Weed Identification in Nurseries and Landscapes

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Yellow woodsorrel - Oxalis stricta L.
Weed Identification in Nurseries and Landscapes > Yellow woodsorrel
Yellow woodsorrel leaf Yellow woodsorrel fruit
Yellow woodsorrel leaf. Yellow woodsorrel fruit.
Yellow woodsorrel plant
Yellow woodsorrel plant.
Life cycle: Low-growing annual or simple perennial.

Leaves: Cotyledons are rounded to oblong. Gray-green leaves are alternate, compound and cloverlike, with three heart-shaped leaflets that attach at the pointed ends. Long-stalked leaves have smooth surfaces, but they are fringed with hair along the margins.

Stems: Low-growing, prostrate to erect stems with minimal branching at the base, up to 20 inches tall. Plants spread by long, slender rhizomes.

Flowers and fruit: Yellow flowers with five petals are found in long-stalked clusters. Fruit are ridged, hairy, cylinder-shaped capsules with pointed tips that range from 0.5 to 1 inch in length. The capsules explosively eject small seeds with a sticky coating up to several feet away. Seeds are mostly brown, ridged, oval and flattened.

Reproduction: Seeds and rhizomes.
Similar weeds: Creeping woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata L.) Differs by having a more prostrate growth, lack of rhizomes, presence of aggressive stolons and foliage often more purplish green.
The MSU IPM Program maintains this site as an access point to pest management information at MSU. The IPM Program is administered within the Department of Entomology, fueled by research from the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, delivered to citizens through MSU Extension, and proud to be a part of Project GREEEN.
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Updated: 10/22/07