Today we’re shining the spotlight on the Oxalis pes-caprae, a familiar sight across the Maltese Islands during the winter months. Known in English as Bermuda Buttercup or Cape Sorrel, and in Maltese as Ħaxixa Ingliża, this bright yellow-flowering plant is one of the most common wild species seen flowering in January and February.

Although its cheerful flowers dominate the landscape in winter, the plant’s life cycle begins much earlier. Its leaves start emerging from late October and can be seen right through until May. Beneath the soil, Oxalis pes-caprae has perennial bulbous roots that remain alive all year round.

These roots produce numerous small, peanut-sized brown bulbs known as bulbils, each capable of growing into a new plant. This method of propagation explains why the species spreads so effectively and why it is notoriously difficult to eradicate from farmland - removing the visible stems leaves the underground bulbs untouched.

The plant is easily recognised by its long leaf stalks, each bearing a single compound trifoliate leaf made up of three inverted heart-shaped leaflets. Some leaves are marked with dark purple speckles, adding to their distinctive appearance. Rising above the foliage are flower stalks carrying between six and twelve trumpet-shaped blooms. Each flower has five vivid yellow petals and is highly attractive to honeybees and other pollinating insects, making it an important winter nectar source.

Originally introduced in the early 19th century, possibly from just a handful of plants, Oxalis pes-caprae spread rapidly across the islands. It is often nicknamed ‘Soursop’ due to its pleasantly sour taste, caused by a high concentration of oxalic acid.

Today, it thrives in wasteland, damp areas, valleys, cultivated and abandoned fields, and even among rubble walls, firmly establishing itself as a defining feature of Malta’s winter flora.

Have you ever seen this plant in action?