There are many species of Oxalis, but Pink Oxalis or Woods Sorrel is a special, old fashioned plant. It is a deciduous rhizomatous perennial that is dense and mounded and grows up to 1′ tall. Flowers of this plant may be partially concealed by the foliage. It is commonly used as an indoor potted plant as well as a border perennial. Flowers and leaves fold at night. This plant may go dormant in dry, hot summers if is is not watered. Leaves contain oxalates that are classified as poisonous, although the effects are local and not systemic or internal. This plant is tolerant of full sun to partial shade. It tolerates dry soil but goes dormant. It prefers moist, well-drained soil. Old plantings form rounded clumps covered with hundreds of bright pink flowers, blooming once in the spring and again in fall. It is almost impossible to kill and can be passed along to friends with the small, scaly, bulb-like rhizomes.
How does the Meadow flower its bloom unfold? Because the lovely little flower is free down to its root, and in that freedom bold…. William Wordsworth