page_title: Oxalis glabra
section_title: Invasive characteristics
hierarchical_section_title: Oxalis glabra / Invasive characteristics
context_page_description: Oxalis glabra is a member of the wood-sorrel family, Oxalidaceae. It is only one of the 800 total species belonging to this family. The plant is commonly known as finger-leaf due to its trifoliate leaf structure. This trifoliate structure can be seen in variations throughout all members of the genus Oxalis. However, the particularly narrow leaflets of the glabra plant look more like fingers rather than a common clover. The plant is native to South Africa and can be found carpeting the ground of woodlands and bushlands.
context_section_description: The ornamental flower of the Oxalis glabra has made it a desirable addition to gardens, however it is often classified as a weed. Due to its underground growth process the Oxalis is difficult to eradicate. A single bulb can propagate into many independent plants and yield many more bulbils. The small size of the bulbs make them hard to detect and easy to spread. The plant grows in a dense carpet and can choke out indigenous species; if introduced to a disturbed community Oxalis glabra will prevent native plants from repopulating the community. Destroying the shoots of the plant are ineffective as well as hand digging because bulbs easily break free and remain in soil. Glyphosate, diuron and sulfonyl urea herbicides are most effective in eradication; herbicides should be applied at first sight of flowering because at this stage the bulbs will be exhausted.
  Members of the genus Oxalis produce the toxin oxalic acid. In low amounts, this toxin is harmless and is even found in common produce, such as broccoli, spinach and brussel sprouts. In higher amounts the toxin can have damaging effects that lead to hypocalcemia; this is a concern among farmers who tend grazing livestock.
caption: Oxalic acid structure