Pink Wood Sorrel

Next up on the list of common wildflowers in Hong Kong is Oxalis debilis also known as Pink wood sorrel. It is a cheerful sight with its bell-shaped flowers, which it displays even in the cooler seasons. The petals are a vibrant pink, possibly purple, with dark purple veining that draws the eye into a white, then yellowy green interior where you might be able to see five yellow anthers and other flowery bits which probably have names, but I don’t know them. Its clover-like trifoliate leaves are larger than other varieties of sorrel and create a pleasantly cool chalky-green foil to its vibrant petals. They make the plant pleasing to look at even when it is not in flower.

You can find it growing widely; little clusters take hold in pavement cracks; pockets form on damp moss-clad slopes, and their stems reach out into the sunlight and where taller plants have been cleared, you can usually see a few popping up side by side to take on the mid-day sun.

It’s interesting to see how quickly it responds to different variables as I move a pot it has taken root in around my garden. Its flowers close and open throughout the day; it droops when the heat or the cold is too much, and it revives quickly when watered, which is an oddly satisfying quality.

The consensus is that it is edible in small quantities, so I tried a few leaves. Its sharp tang may be palatable, and sophisticated grown-ups may boldly sprinkle it on salads to add an acidic accent but foragers might want to go easy as despite its vitamin C content it is high in oxalate, a common toxin in plants. It’s fun to taste once or twice for reference, but I wouldn’t try to impress dinner guests with it.

This one, like many common wildflowers, seems to have escaped from gardens. Originally from South America, it probably charmed gardeners to accommodate it in well-tended flowerbeds and, like a cheeky house pet leapt the garden gate when no one was looking. It is now in almost every part of the world save the frozen or sun-dried extremities. So, if your journeys take you further-a-field than Hong Kong, you may find it on your way.