Vascular Plants » Oxalidaceae » Oxalis acetosella Wood-sorrel

Oxalis acetosella Wood-sorrel

Aleliwia

Linnaeus

A common species of woodland and hedges in Britian. It is very shade tolerant and does best in the most shaded areas of broadleaved woodland. It is also one of the few flowering plamts that do well in conifer plantations, sometimes carpetting the forest floor. Occasionally it is found growing as an epiphyte on trees, but it is predominantly a ground layer species. The flowers are usually white with pink-violet nectar guides but a pink-flowered variety occurs in the conifer plantations of Glyncastle Forest, near Resolven. The leaves are made up of 3 leaflets that spread wide in shaded locations but fold up when they are exposed to sunshine. Wood-sorrel has been associated, erroneously, with shamrock by some authorities, but the name shamrock is derived fro the Irish Gaelic word for 'little clover'. Wood-sorrel is widely distributed and common in West Glamorgan.

Native

Oxalis acetosella - © Barry Stewart
Oxalis acetosella - © Barry Stewart

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