I did not have to look very far for my entry to Flower Fest this time. I found this plant growing on the grass right outside my front door! This flower is called Oxalis stricta. The tiny yellow flowers occur in spring and are commonly described as an invasive yard weed.
The leaves of the plant are divided into three heart shaped leaflets which close at night and reopen in the morning. The leaves are edible and taste sour as they contain oxalic acid. It is fine when eaten in small quantities but can be harmful when ingested in large quantities. It has a number of common names of which the popular names are Yellow Wood Sorrel and Sour Grass. They belong to the family Oxalidaceae.
One look at this flower and it brought fond memories of my childhood and summer vacations. As a child, I remember picking the leaves of this plant and enjoying their tart taste. The seed pods of the plant looks like tiny bhindi (okra) and when bloated and ripe they explode scattering the seeds everywhere. I remember picking plump ones and bursting them for fun.
Oxalis stricta are hardy plants. They spring up in the strangest of places, even in cracks on the sidewalks. Serious gardeners have a tough time keeping them out of their lawns and potted plants.
This is my entry for O at Flower Fest.
Flower Fest - The A - Z of Flowers
Tags: Flower Fest
8 comments:
Shilpa - We chose the same flower for this round! Lucky girl - you have flowers growing all around your home.
N&M your painting of Oxalis is beautiful. I love it. I also esp. like the sparrow you posted a few days back.
Yeah there are flowers everywhere I look. I even found couple of wildflowers blooming in an empty lot nearby :)
nice looking flower ..so u have a huge garden , i guess:))
Ranjani, I don't have a garden. Just a tiny herb garden in pots. All these flowers pictures are taken around my neighbourhood or on hikes.
On the contrary, Shilpa! Your garden *is* huge. It's the world around you!
I saw an update and came over to see what's new. I love the mountains in your new header! Did you take that picture on your most recent trip? Please share more pictures!
Hi Manisha,
I have been fooling around with the template of my blog. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing! Dummies guide to blogger is a good thing, I managed to figure out some basics.
The mountains in the header are the mighty Himalayas. I went on a biking trip to Bhutan and NE India in 2003 and the picture is from that trip.
The recent trip was good. The Cherry blossoms festival was in its last stages but we still got to see plenty of flowers. Some even covered in snow!
There are so many things I want to post. Mostly for my own records but need to organize my thoughts a bit.
Btw, your killing me with your cookies and vangi bath pictures!
It's a brilliant pic! I need to go there again! I was just 9 when we went to Kashmir.
We've got 6-12 inches of snow heading our way from Thurs night. Fun, huh?!
I love seeing the Himalayas. I will post some pictures of them here sometime.
Snow again, huh? What about your bhindi saplings? Last I heard was that they were not very happy in the ground.
Some of the trees here are looking funny. We had freezing temperatures the past weekend and the tender leaves are all looking shriveled
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