Oxalis are not only excellent houseplants because they come in a range of colors and sizes, but also because they are so prolific. They are, in fact, SO prolific that they are considered to be weeds to gardeners and greenhouse growers worldwide.

Oxalis has shamrock-shaped leaves and is also commonly referred to as love plant and wood sorrel. The plant is sometimes referred to as a false shamrock because of the shape of its leaves but is not a member of the shamrock family.

Oxalis (American English) or (British English) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising about 570 species.

The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species diversity is particularly rich in tropical Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.

Many of the species are known as wood sorrels (sometimes written “woodsorrels” or “wood-sorrels”) as they have an acidic taste reminiscent of the sorrel proper (Rumex acetosa), which is only distantly related. Some species are called yellow sorrels or pink sorrels after the color of their flowers instead.