The mystery seeds from last week that look like insects were indeed from yellow wood sorrel, Oxalis stricta.
Yellow wood sorrel is a small short-lived perennial that grows throughout much of North America.
It is sometimes mistaken as clover because the leaves are composed of three heart-shaped leaflets.
The delicate 5-petal flowers are pale to bright yellow.
There are a couple of other closely-related species of Oxalis that resemble O. stricta, and may be difficult to identify.
Native to North America, yellow wood sorrel can be considered to be a weed in certain nursery or turfgrass situations. Others may enjoy its delicate beauty, and consider it to be a wildflower.
In any case, don’t you think it has unusual seeds?
Thank you!! I thought my houseplants were infected with pests as these look just like tiny bug eggs. I have a volunteer yellow wood sorrel that started growing with one of my houseplants (that had previously been outside), and I’m happy to learn that these are just the seeds, and not pests. So, thanks!
My volunteer yellow wood sorrel is a lovely companion to the houseplant it’s living with 🙂
Thank you for sharing. It’s a great story.
I found these around my house and love them. But I’m curious as to what the white shells are? I hope they’re part of the seeds and not aphid eggs.
I’m pretty sure those were immature seeds. They came from the plant in any case.