Creeping woodsorrel
Scientific Name: Oxalis corniculata L.
Family: Oxalidaceae
MORPHOLOGY
Habit and dimensions: perennial, herbaceous plant, variously pubescent; with gradually tapering taproot; absent stolons. Height ranging from 5 to 30 cm.
Stems: prostrate or ascending stems, creeping, rooting at the nodes, glabrous or with spreading hairs.
Leaves: alternate, trifoliate leaves, green, sometimes mottled with violet, with small rectangular stipules, auriculate and adherent to the petiole. Leaflets obcordate and bilobed at the apex, about 5÷9 x 8÷12 mm.
Flowers: hermaphrodite flowers, clustered in inflorescences (2÷5 (7) umbelliform at the axils of the cauline leaves, carried by pubescent peduncles, shorter or as long as the leaves, reflexed after flowering. Calyx about 4 mm with 5 lanceolate-linear sepals, ciliate at the margin especially at the apex, fused only at the base. Corolla with 5 oblong-ovate petals of 5÷7 mm, free, yellow, often streaked with red at the base and on the outer surface. Blooms from January to May and from July to September.
Fruits and seeds: the fruits, borne on erect peduncles, are fissuricidal capsules, 8÷25×2÷3 mm, cylindrical with a pentagonal stellate section, hirsute with simple hairs, with 5 locules. Each locule contains 3÷8 seeds about 1 mm in size. The seeds are ellipsoid, compressed, brownish-red, and transversely grooved.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
An allochthonous cryptogenic species, meaning its origins are unknown, it is present throughout Italy, in anthropized areas, cracks in walls, fields, courtyards, gardens, sidewalks; from sea level up to 800 m.
USE
It is an anti-inflammatory, anti-helminthic, emmenagogue, astringent, depurative, febrifuge, stomachic, diuretic, and styptic plant. The leaves and flowers can be used as a remedy for fever, influenza, diarrhea, traumatic injuries, and urinary tract infections. Due to its high vitamin C content, it is used in the treatment of scurvy. Leaf extract can be used externally to treat skin rashes, insect bites, and burns. Before taking any plant-derived product (medicinal or non-medicinal) for therapeutic or similar purposes, it is always advisable to consult a physician. Due to its pleasant sour taste, its leaves can be consumed raw in salads in moderate quantities, and its flowers can be used to garnish dishes, but caution: its oxalate content can cause kidney and digestive disorders and is absolutely not recommended for those suffering from arthritis, rheumatism, and calculi. It is a species with dyeing properties (yellow, orange, and red).
Photo: licensed freely by Saxifraga and Peter Meininger, Ab H Baas, Rutger Barendse
