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Oxalis tetraphylla
Also called Four-leaved Pink-sorrel, Lucky Clover, Four Leaf Pink Sorrel, Good Luck Leaf, Fleshy Yellow Sorrel, Fourleaf Pink Sorrel
Four-leaved sorrel is a bulbous perennial from Mexico, grown for its clover-like leaves and pink flowers, often sold as lucky clover. It needs full sun and well-drained soil, as wet soil can rot the bulbs.
Oxalis tetraphylla (often traded under its synonym O. deppei) is a bulbous herbaceous perennial plant from Mexico. It is sometimes sold as lucky clover or shamrock (though it is neither a clover nor a shamrock). In the wild or feral state it is often called four-leaved wood-sorrel after its family, Oxalidaceae. Other English common names for this plant include Lucky Clover, Four-Leaf Sorrel, Four-Leaf Pink-Sorrel and others. It is sometimes called "the iron cross plant" or "oxalis iron cross" because the leaves loosely resemble the iron cross symbol, though this name is not a classic folk term and has fallen out of favour due to the bad political connotations associated with this symbol.
It is in the same genus as the common wood-sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) and has three wild variants: var. tetraphylla (autonym) distributed in the states of Veracruz, México, Morelos and Michoacán, var.
Oxalis tetraphylla var. tetraphylla is the variety most commonly used as an ornamental plant, either potted or in gardens as ground cover. The other two variants are very similar and their green parts (and flowers) look practically identical. All variants of this plant are also edible, the flowers and leaves having a sharp lemon flavour. However, since the oxalic acid in the plant can interfere with the absorption of certain nutrients in the body, especially calcium, too much can be harmful.
Hardiness zones: 7 - 10
Wood-sorrel · Silver Shamrock · Barrelier's woodsorrel · Creeping woodsorrel · Scurvygrass · Crimson woodsorrel · Broadleaf woodsorrel · Nieuwoudtville Sorrel · Blackspot Sorrel · Mountain woodsorrel · Redwood-sorrel · Bermuda buttercup
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Oxalis tetraphylla by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
