Species PlantsMountain Wood Sorrel

Mountain Wood Sorrel

Oxalis montana

CommonPlant
Illustration of Mountain Wood Sorrel (Oxalis montana)

Mountain Wood Sorrel is a delicate groundcover of cool northern and montane forests, producing trifoliate clover-like leaves and white flowers delicately veined with pink. Native to northeastern North America and the Appalachians, it forms carpets on the forest floor in cool, moist, acidic habitats often alongside ferns and mosses. The leaves fold down at night and in strong sunlight. It is the characteristic groundcover plant of spruce-fir forests in the Northeast.

Habitat
Found in cool, moist, acidic spruce-fir and northern hardwood forests in the Northeast and Appalachians.
Diet
Flowers pollinated by small native bees; seeds dispersed by ants.
How common
Common

Best time to see a Mountain Wood Sorrel

The best time to see a Mountain Wood Sorrel is June–July, when about 71% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 8,576 research-grade iNaturalist observations.

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