Violet Wood-sorrel (Oxalis violacea)

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Oxalis violacea - Missouri Botanical Garden
Oxalis violacea - Wikipedia
Oxalis violacea - USDA PLANTS Database

Duration: Perennial

Origination: North America

Edibility: Leaves

Status in Yard: Abundant, Spreading

Violet wood sorrel is very common in Houston, and it is the dominant forb in my backyard. In the winter and spring, its three heart-shaped leaves are just about everywhere. I have removed some, but one cannot simply mow the yard or yank off the leaves; you have do dig up the plant's bulb if you don't want it to reappear at that spot. This makes managing its distribution very painstaking. The plant can also propagate through runners from the bulbs.

The wood sorrel is hidden by longer grass through the summer and fall. It stops flowering in May.

The leaves of both violet wood sorrel and its much smaller cousin yellow wood sorrel have a pleasant lemony flavor, with that of the violet wood sorrel being stonger. However, the oxalic acid could upset your stomach if you have too much.

Click the photo to enlarge it

Click the photo to enlarge it

Some violet woodsorrel leaves can persist long after most of the rest has died back to its bulbs. This individual was still going on October 19, 2013.