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I have found these plants in my local park. These tastes like lemon. I am not sure if these are edible. Although.I have been using these in my terrarium.

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saleem
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  • Park in my society, Noida,UP India – saleem Nov 19 '17 at 06:46
  • It's sorrel and it's great to eat. Sheep sorrel also has a tangy taste and is great in salads in small amounts. Wash well before eating, you never know what was sprayed there. I actually don't eat anything from a park. – Bulrush Nov 21 '17 at 19:51

2 Answers2

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Just visible is a yellow flower, not fully open yet, and once that opens, you can confirm (or deny) this ID. It is a sorrel rather than a clover, as mentioned in the other answer, specifically, Oxalis corniculata, known where you are as changeri or wood sorrel. It is edible, but best eaten in small amounts because of its oxalic acid content - this is reduced if cooked. Not sure its a great inclusion for your terrarium though, it can be somewhat invasive. Often used as an Ayurvedic medicinal herb for various ailments. There's a short video here about this plant https://youtu.be/mu9NbaJniVY

Further information http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Oxalis+corniculata

Bamboo
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  • I checked the plant and the flower had not bloomed yet. I was waiting for the flower to bloom to mark an answer. I’ll check the flower in a couple of days and update with a comment. – saleem Nov 21 '17 at 05:36
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Maybe you found chichoda bhaji.

This seems to be a yellow woodsorrel. More precisely, its genus is Oxalis, but it could be Oxalis stricta (common yellow woodsorrel, lemon clover, sourgrass), Oxalis corniculata (creeping woodsorrel, sleeping beauty, chichoda bhaji (India)), or other similar yellow-flowered Oxalis.

Sorrel and clover have admitedly similar leaves, however, sorrel has more distinguished crease (groove) in the middle of 'hearts', just as it is pictured on your photos. Their flowers are though very different, and would be much better indicators.

Lemonish taste definitely points to woodsorrel. Also, flowers buds visible on your photos look exactly the same as yellow woodsorrel's buds.

Yellow woodsorrel is an incredibly interesting plant, and it has multi-faceted use by humans. You may find this excerpt from a book on foraging (Front Yard Forager: Identifying, Collecting , and Cooking the 30 Most Common Urban Weeds) interesting. The most interesting fact in the book is the claim that Algonquin Indians used this plant as an aphrodisiac.

Another (but funny) way of identifying it would be to cook a handfull of leaves, and if it produces almost orange dye, that is yellow woodsorrel.

VividD
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