The information provided using this website is intended for educational purposes only. ---Part Used Medicinally---The leaves, fresh or dried. Wood sorrel can cause diarrhea , nausea , increased urination, skin reactions, stomach and intestine irritation, eye … ---Medicinal Action and Uses---It has diuretic, antiscorbutic and refrigerant action, and a decoction made from its pleasant acid leaves is given in high fever, both to quench thirst and to allay the fever. and of all Sauces, Sorrel is the best, not only in virtue, but also in pleasantness of his taste.'. American Indian Remedies Yellow Wood Sorrel, Poncho Shelter: The Bat and Flying Squirrel, Poncho Shelter: Plow Point A.K.A Flying V. of fresh herb yield about 6 lb. . ---Description---It is a little plant of a far more delicate, even dainty character, growing abundantly in woods and shady places. These are hidden among the leaves and are inconspicuous, their undeveloped petals never opening out. The long slender leaf-stalks are often reddish towards the base. The old herbalists tell us that Wood Sorrel is more effectual than the true Sorrels as a blood cleanser, and will strengthen a weak stomach, produce an appetite, check vomiting, and remove obstructions of the viscera. A MODERN HERBAL Home Page, © Copyright Protected 1995-2020 Botanical.com. In Henry VIII's time this plant was held in great repute as a pot-herb, but after the introduction of French Sorrel, with its large succulent leaves, it gradually lost its position as a salad and pot-herb. The flowers, each set on long stalks, are fragile, in form somewhat like the Crane'sbills, to which they are closely allied, being bell-shaped, the corolla composed of five delicate white petals, veined with purple, enclosed in a five-scalloped cup of sepals and containing ten stamens, and in the centre, five green, thread-like columns, arising from a single five-celled ovary. The Russians make a cooling drink from an infusion of the leaves, which may be infused with water or boiled in milk. of Salts of Lemon can be obtained. Neither the flowers nor any part of the plant has any odour, but the leaves have a pleasantly acid taste, due to the presence of considerable quantities of binoxalate of potash. A poultice of the plant has been used to treat swellings. Log in. Decoctions of Wood Sorrel herb are used to relieve hemorrhages and urinary disorders, as a blood cleanser, and will strengthen a weak stomach, produce an appetite, and check vomiting. Ruskin writes: 'Fra Angelico's use of the Oxalis acetosella is as faithful in representation as touching in feeling.'. The juice used as a gargle is a remedy for ulcers in the mouth, and is good to heal wounds and to stanch bleeding. Salts of Lemon, as well as Oxalic acid, can be obtained from the plant: 20 lb. Sponges and linen cloths saturated with the juice and applied, were held to be effective in the reduction of swellings and inflammation. The Russians make a cooling drink from an infusion of the leaves, which may be infused with water or … Both botanical names Oxalis and acetosella refer to this acidity, Oxalis being derived from the Greek oxys, meaning sour or acid, and acetosella, meaning vinegar salts. Yellow Wood Sorrel, Oxalis stricta, is one of my favorite wild edible snacks. At night and in bad weather, the leaflets fold in half along the midrib, and the three are placed nearly side by side to 'sleep,' a security against storm and excessive dews. ---Medicinal Action and Uses--- It has diuretic, antiscorbutic and refrigerant action, and a decoction made from its pleasant acid leaves is given in high fever, both to quench thirst and to allay the fever. . At the base of the petals, a little honey is stored, but the flower seems to find favour with few insects. 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