What type of miniature clover is growing with yellow flowers in my short Australian lawn?

Question

I have a weed in my lawn which is prolific where the grass is of low height. It is a very small clover with yellow flowers.

I live in the Sydney, Australia region.

Here's a photo with a ruler to scale:

1 inch = 2.54 centimeters

Lisa · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-13 01:47:50Z

If it isn't, I'm 90 to 95% certain it's in the Oxalis genus, which Yellow Woodsorrel belongs to...

Kudos to Lisa for the local Down Under information:

Where I come from (SA) it's called "Soursob" and as far as I know its binomial name is Oxalis pes-caprae. It is an extremely well known weed throughout the agricultural regions of Australia and some studies identify it as a health risk for grazing livestock. You can use it as a herb apparently, though most people spend countless hours of their lives trying to kill it!
From 891's Talkback Gardening with Jon Lamb and Ashley Walsh podcast, listen to the below show as the Aussie gardening superstars talk about dealing with soursobs (and hopefully similar species in Oxalis genus). Listen at 22:30 and 32:23.
- Tallback Gardening 270811

Thank you so much! Now i can target it with the right treatment.
Where I come from (SA) it is called soursob and as far as I know its binomial name is Oxalis pes-caprae. It is an extremely well known weed throughout the agricultural regions of Australia and some studies identify it as a health risk for grazing livestock. You can use it as a herb apparently, though most people spend countless hours of their lives trying to kill it!
@Lisa this podcast link: abc.net.au/adelaide/features/garden.xml -- is on that page, is it not correct?
@Valamas Dealing with soursobs (and hopefully similar species in Oxalis genus) at 22:30 mins in: mpegmedia.abc.net.au/local/adelaide/201108/r819626_7412696.mp3

1 Answer