diff --git a/src/core/qgsogcutils.cpp b/src/core/qgsogcutils.cpp
index 7f8377ff0bd..464d52ec310 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsogcutils.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsogcutils.cpp
@@ -1603,6 +1603,16 @@ QgsExpression* QgsOgcUtils::expressionFromOgcFilter( const QDomElement& element
 
   QgsExpression *expr = new QgsExpression();
 
+  // check if it is a single string value not having DOM elements
+  // that express OGC operators
+  if ( element.firstChild().nodeType() == QDomNode::TextNode )
+  {
+    expr->setExpression( element.firstChild().nodeValue() );
+    return expr;
+  }
+
+  // then check OGC DOM elements that contain OGC tags specifying
+  // OGC operators.
   QDomElement childElem = element.firstChildElement();
   while ( !childElem.isNull() )
   {
diff --git a/src/core/symbology-ng/qgssymbollayerutils.cpp b/src/core/symbology-ng/qgssymbollayerutils.cpp
index cabc25dcab5..4875ae2c146 100644
--- a/src/core/symbology-ng/qgssymbollayerutils.cpp
+++ b/src/core/symbology-ng/qgssymbollayerutils.cpp
@@ -2515,14 +2515,6 @@ bool QgsSymbolLayerUtils::functionFromSldElement( QDomElement &element, QString
     return false;
   }
 
-  // check if it is a single string value
-  if ( elem.hasChildNodes() &&
-       elem.firstChild().nodeType() == QDomNode::TextNode )
-  {
-    function = elem.firstChild().nodeValue();
-    return true;
-  }
-
   // parse ogc:Filter
   QgsExpression *expr = QgsOgcUtils::expressionFromOgcFilter( elem );
   if ( !expr )