Here is a plant that most people probably recognize by its leaves, rather than by its flowers. Redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) is a small plant with leaves that form the classic shamrock shape. It grows in dense carpets on the floor of shady, wet, forests on the west side of the Cascades, as in the photo below.
Oxalis oregana (for some reason, it seems most appropriate to me to use the scientific name of this plant) is most common in healthy, old-growth forests.
The white or pinkish flowers are about 0.5 to 1.0 inches in diameter (1.2 to 2.0 cm).
This plant is adapted to life in the shade. The three heart-shaped leaflets are positioned to capture the scant sunlight that makes it to the forest floor, like little solar panels. The leaflets fold down in heavy rain or bright sunlight.
When out hiking in the forest, I often grab a few Oxalis leaves and pop them in my mouth. They are edible and have a nice, tangy taste. But take care not to eat very much of this plant– the tangy taste comes from Oxalic acid in the leaves, which can be toxic if too much is ingested.
Oxalic acid gets its name from the plant, and not the other way around. The acid was first isolated from a species of Oxalis.
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Great photo of the flower!
A friend of mine, who first pointed out this plant to me when I moved to Oregon, always called it Deer Clover. Must have been some (not so) common name passed down among his friends or family. Or maybe it was just his name for the plant.
I always thought the leaves taste a little like green apples.
Thanks, Matt. As far as I can tell, with some Internet searching, is that deer clover is a completely different plant. Probably a true clover in the pea family. Wood sorrels (Oxalis) are in their own family Oxalidaceae.
Common names are hard to figure out sometimes.
So is this different than wood sorrel or other types? It looks like the clover-like plant (sorrel, but I didn’t know it then) that grew in the shade of big trees alongside the little stream that ran through my front yard when I was a kid. We used to eat it, too, for it’s tangy tart, fresh taste. Not a lot, of course, just a few at a time.
Hi, Jill. Oxalis oregana is a type of “wood sorrel.” There are ~900 species worldwide. Our Oxalis looks like clover, yes, but it is not in the same plant family as true clover.
When I was growing up in Louisiana, I knew people that gathered a different species of oxalis and ate it to “thin their blood’ as soon as it started growing in the spring. I just eat it like you do, a pinch here and there.
I planted Oxalis oregana in my yard and it has flourished! I have to cut it back in places to save other plants.
I have some growing in a planter box and it is doing really well.