The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Oxalis debilis
Also called Large-flowered Pink-sorrel, Large Flower Pink Sorrel, Pink Shamrock, Largeflower Pink Sorrel, Lavender Sorrel, Pink Wood Sorrel, World Wide Wood Sorrel
Oxalis debilis, the large-flowered pink-sorrel or pink woodsorrel, is a perennial plant and herb in the family Oxalidaceae. Its original distribution is South America but it has become a cosmopolitan species, occurring in all continents except Antarctica. It can be found in both temperate and tropical areas.
The flowers, leaves and roots are edible. The plant contains oxalic acid, which can cause calcium deficiency if eaten in larger amounts, but typical quantities of the plant would likely not be enough to cause this effect.
There are two varieties:
Oxalis debilis var. corymbosa (DC.) Lourteig – large-flowered pink-sorrel (Synonym : O. corymbosa)
Its original distribution is South America but it has become a cosmopolitan species, occurring in all continents except Antarctica. It can be found in both temperate and tropical areas.
The flowers, leaves and roots are edible. There is concern that the plant should only be consumed in small amounts because it contains oxalic acid, which can cause calcium deficiency if eaten in larger amounts. Studies show that this is an exaggerated fear.
Wood-sorrel · Silver Shamrock · Radishroot woodsorrel · Alpine woodsorrel · Oxalis ambigua · Oxalis arenaria · Pink Sorrel · Oxalis aureoflava · Oxalis ausensis · Barrelier's woodsorrel · Oxalis bifida · Red-flower woodsorrel
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Oxalis debilis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
