Oxalis pes-caprae sour-sob
South Africa
Flowers June to November
Habit: 5 to 30cm high, top dies back but bulbs survive summer
Leaves: bright green clover like with three heart shaped leaflets on a long
stalk,Leaflets sparsely hairy underneath. Leaf stalks watery when crushed.
Flowers: bright yellow, 5 petalled, trumpet shaped, grouped in a head on long fleshy stems
with stalks joined to stem at a common point. Flowers open in sunlight.
Fruit: very rare, capsules
Roots: bulbils form along the vertical underground stem and near soil surface. Bulbs have
a crisp brown coat over summer, Root has a tuber which contracts, pulling bulbs deeper
into soil.
Spread: Once grown as a garden plant, now a common, garden, farm and bushland weed. Spread mainly by bulbs in soil.
Removal: Begin in least weedy area. Do not distrub soil around patches as this may scatter bulbils into clean areas. Grub just before flowering, before new bulbils form, for best results. Look at roots to determine the bulb stage. Get rid of small patches before they take hold. Begin at edges of dense patches. Can be spot sprayed when flowering using Glyphosate at 360g/l diluted 1:150 with water.
Do not confuse with native oxalis which are not flesh, have smaller yellow flowers (less than 1 cm across) and have thread-thin running stems along the ground just above or below the surface.