Candy Flower

So now I am going to show you another resident plant that is often found in the redwood forest. The flower of that plant looks amazingly similar to redwood sorrel's and you have to look very close to tell the difference.

The plant is called candy flower. Like sorrel it has 5 petals, white in color but with deep purple veins. If you look close, you'll notice that candy flower's petals are more narrow and are cleft at the outside edge. The leaves of these two plants are also quite different, in fact, leaves are enough to tell them apart. Candy flower has lily-like round double leaves wrapped around the stem.

Candy flower among redwood sorrels

Yes, to add to the confusion, they also grow in the same patch, like in the picture above.

And here's the picture of redwood sorrel again, so you can see the difference:

Redwood sorrel

Notice the sorrel has more rounded leaves. In fact, they belong to different plant families. Redwood sorrel (oxalis oregana) belongs to sorrel family or Oxalidaceae. Candy flower (claytonia sibirica) belongs to  Portulacaceae or purslane family. In fact, one of the names for it is pink purslane.