Oxalis pilosa

Hairy wood sorrel

Family: Oxalidaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Hairy wood sorrel is a California native perennial found in coastal regions including northern Coast Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, central western California, southern California coastal areas, western Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges at elevations below 1,800 meters. Flowering from February to September, this plant produces bright yellow flowers approximately 8 to 12 millimeters long with delicate, spreading petals. Growing with slender stems up to 40 centimeters tall that can root at the nodes, it has a somewhat woody taproot and dense spreading hairs covering the stems. Its leaves feature small leaflets less than 1.5 centimeters long, covered in appressed hairs and typically arranged in a delicate trifoliate pattern. The fruit is 12 to 18 millimeters long, covered with simple, short, multicellular hairs that spread outward.

Habitat: Coastal grassland, scrub, chaparral

Bloom period: Feb-Sep

Elevation: < 1800 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, n SNF, CW (exc SCoRI), SCo, WTR, PR (exc SnJt)

California counties: Santa Barbara, Ventura, Marin, Napa, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, San Diego, Riverside, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Sonoma, Alameda, Humboldt, San Mateo, Monterey

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.