Common Yellow Woodsorrel
Oxalis stricta
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in disturbed areas, also in a variety of natural habitats. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 2–12 inches
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Do not plant. Listed invasive in Arkansas.
Plant this instead
Choose your county to list local plants first.
No recorded swaps for this county. Try the garden finder.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to October
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 60 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 141 animals.
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticorax
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Oxalis
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Galgula partitaThe Wedgling
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
18BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Oxalis
- Ammodramus savannarumGrasshopper Sparrow
- Ammospiza leconteiiLeConte's Sparrow
- Antigone canadensisSandhill Crane
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Show all 18
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
- Passer domesticusHouse Sparrow
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
- Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Adult butterflies / moths 2
- Pholisora catullus
- Pholisora hayhurstii
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Oxalidaceae
- Soil pH
- Alkaline
- Flower color
- Yellow
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2–12 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Soil pH · “Alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
Also known as
Common Yellow Wood Sorrel
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications