Introduced, cool-season, perennial herb, with a fleshy white rhizome and 2-3 cm long,brown bulbs; bulbils are formed on a white fleshy rhizome and in axils of basal leaves. Vegetative parts die off during summer and re-shoot again in autumn. Aerial stems are absent or greatly reduced. Leaves are trifoliolate; leaflets are heart-shaped and 1-3 cm across, often with dark blotches. Yellow flowers occur in groups of 3-25 at the tips of stems that arise from the base of the plant. Sepals 5. Petals 5 and fused. Produces vegetative shoots in autumn and most flowering is in late winter and spring. No fruit are produced in Australia. A native of South Africa, it was introduced as a garden ornamental. It occurs where annual rainfall is greater than 320 mm per annum and colonises disturbed soils with moderate to high fertility &amp; good moisture holding capacity. Spread by tuberous bulbs, bulbils and rhizomes. Disturbance of a colony can result in massive recruitment of new plants. Heavy infestations can be as dense as 3000 plants per square metre. A garden escape, it is now a weed of pastures, crops and orchards where it is extremely difficult to control once established. Competitive in pastures from autumn-spring, especially in winter rainfall annual pastures. It has been know to cause oxalate poisoning in sheep. Plants can be controlled by digging and removing bulbs or repeated use of herbicides.
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/73840284@N04">Harry Rose</a> from South West Rocks, Australia
CC BY 2.0
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/macleaygrassman/14726628981/">Oxalis pes-caprae habit5</a>