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| Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud |
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Oxalis corniculata (Creeping Wood Sorrel) |
Oxalis corniculata (OXALIDACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.
Website launch: Oct-2002
Taxonomic update: Aug-2026
Code update: Jul-2026 |
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| Nomenclature and General Information |
Species name : |
Oxalis corniculataL.
Published in Sp. Pl. : 435 (1753) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
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Plant Family : |
Oxalidaceae R. Br. (The WoodSorrel Family)
4 species from the Oxalidaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Creeping Wood Sorrel, Yellow Wood Sorrel, Yellow Oxalis |
Maltese name(s) : |
Ingliża żgħira |
Status for Malta : |
Naturalised Alien. Species that was introduced in Malta after year 1492 (Columbus' discovery of the New World)
and spreads and integrates to form established, non-invasive populations.
Species may become become invasive if it widespreads rapidly. |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Germination type [info]: Monocotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Hemicryptophyte ( perennial herbaceous plants with vegetative buds close to the ground ) |
Legal Protection : |
Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025) |
Red List (1989) : |
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands |
Flowering Time : |
March – November |
Colour of Flowers: |
Yellow |
Toxicity: |
Not particularly toxic |
Name Derivation : |
Oxalis: sour, acidic, or acrid-tasting, referring to the sour taste of the sap due to the high level of Oxalic acid that is present in most species, especially in the stems, leaves and roots. (Greek origin)
corniculata: ()
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Planting in rural areas : |
Cannot be planted in the wild (rural areas) since the species may be invasive (see ERA guidelines) |
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Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Botanical Description |
Creeping, pubescent perennial, but flowering soon after germination. Stems up to 50 cm, procumbent, rooting at the nodes. Leaves alternate; petioles 2-8 cm, with small auriculate stipules; leaflets 5-18 x 8-23 mm, obcordate, deeply emarginate. Inflorescence umbellate, of 1-7 flowers; fruiting pedicels deflexed. Sepals lanceolate; petals 4-7 mm, yellow. Capsule 10-25 mm, cylindrical, hoary. Seeds transversely ridged, brown. | |
Habitat in Europe |
Dry open habitats, especially cultivated ground.
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Preferred habitat in Malta |
Data will be available in the next update of this website.
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Chromosome number(s) |
2n=24 | |
Distributional range |
S. Europe, extending locally northwards to N. France, Hungary and C. Ukraine often naturalized or casual further north.
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Distributional maps from various sources |
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993) |
Albania, the Azores, the Balaeric Islands, Bulgaria, Corse, Crete, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Greece, Switzerland, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Hungary, Italy (mainland, excl. Sicily and Sardinia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Russia and former USSR, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta, Turkey (European part), Introduced in Austria and Liechtenstein, Belgium, Britain (excl. Northern Ireland and Channel islands), Czeck Republic and Slovakia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
Country codes
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Ab(A N) AE(G) Ag Al Ar Az BH Bl(I M N) Bu Ca dCa(C F G H L P T) Cg Co Cr Cs Ct Cy Eg Ga(F) Ge Gg Gr Hs(S) Ir It Jo Le Li Lu Ma Md Mk dRf(K) Sa Si(M S) Sl Sn Sr Sy Tn Tu(A E) [Au nAu(A L) nAz(C F G J L M P S T) Be(B L) Bl(I M N) nBr Cs Es Fe nGa(C) Ga(F) Gg(A D G) nHb Hb(E N) He Ho Hs(A S) Hu aIs nIt La Lt Lu Md(D M P) No Po Rf(C NW) aRm nSa Sg Sk Sr Su Uk(K U)]
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| Links & Further literature
(1 papers) |
Google Web |
Google Images |
Google Scholar |
Research Gate |
Wikipedia |
JSTOR |
GBIF |
Med Checklist |
Cat. of Life |
EoL |
IPNI |
World Flora Online |
Plants of the World Online |
Vienna Virt. Herb. |
RBGE Herbarium |
KEW Herbarium |
MNHN |
Garden Database |
IUCN |
TROPICOS |
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Updates in the Flora of the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean) |
Stephen Mifsud (2007) |
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local
studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.
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Sales and Donations
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Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta: Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).
How it works: First, submit a quotation request by completing the Online Quotation Form (link provided on the right side of this table). Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive confirmation regarding seed availability, export eligibility (where applicable), pricing, and any transport charges. Payments are accepted by Revolut, bank transfer (IBAN), or PayPal only; credit and debit card payments are not accepted.
Please note that local orders are currently not being accepted. Seek Maltese nurseries and NGOs for local orders.
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Online Quotation (Seeds)
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Online Purchase (Images)
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Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution Map
WFO Distribution map
