States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaFloridaVirginia
Menu

Creeping Woodsorrel

Oxalis corniculata

Found in gardens, fields, disturbed areas, sometimes more natural areas including pinelands, dunes. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

55
Strong

Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
2–8 inches
Spread
2–30 inches
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual or perennial
Bloom
February to December

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 65 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · 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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
22BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Oxalis

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist 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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Oxalidaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–8b
Soil pH
Acidic to alkaline
Flower color
Yellow

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Creeping Wood Sorrel

Conservation status

Florida rankSNR
Global rankGNR
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources