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Oxalis

Oxalis articulata, Oxalidaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Pink Oxalis and Pink Wood Sorrel.

Oxalis (Oxalis articulata), the whole plant.
Melissadilara, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Light
Full sun, Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist but well-drained or Well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H4 — -10 to -5°C -10 to -5 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam, Sand, Chalk; pH Acid or Neutral or Alkaline
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Without water, it may become dormant in hot, dry summers.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Divide the bulb-like rhizomes in fall or spring.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Divide in spring; small rhizome sections root readily with bottom heat, or raise from seed.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Pruning is not needed.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Outdoors, snails and slugs can attack it. Disease risk: rust diseases.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

Flowers of Oxalis (Oxalis articulata).
FlowersAhmet Emin Karakuşoğlu, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Oxalis (Oxalis articulata) growing wild.
In the wildKrzysztof Golik, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Oxalis articulata, known as pink-sorrel, pink wood sorrel, windowbox wood-sorrel, sourgrass, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the genus Oxalis native to Northern Argentina, Southern Brazil and Uruguay. It has been introduced in Europe in gardens and is now naturalized in these areas.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
S. Brazil to N. Argentina
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
South America
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
E C South America
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
temperate
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
tuberous geophyte
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Ground Cover, Herbaceous Perennial, Perennial; habit clumping, rounded, spreading
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Clump forming (deciduous)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 6–8 in; width 6–8 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height 0.1-0.5 metres; spread 0.5-1 metres after 2–5 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers gold/yellow, pink, purple/lavender, white; blooms in fall, spring
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowers pink in summer
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Uses

What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.

Edible parts: leaves, flowers, seeds and tubers/roots are not dangerous when small amounts are eaten raw. They taste sour, like lemon.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Oxalis

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.