Biological Name:
Oxalis spp. (Yellow-Woodsorrel)
Natural Habitat:
Yellow-woodsorrel is a type of flowering plant that is native to North America. It can grow in a variety of habitats, including forests, fields, and along roadsides.
Description:
Yellow-Woodsorrel is a herbaceous annual plant that is native to Europe and Asia. It has small yellow flowers and clover-like leaves. It is often found in moist shaded areas and is used in traditional medicine.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is yellow woodsorrel good for?
A: As a medicinal, woodsorrel has been used topically to cool skin, soothe the stomach, as a diuretic, and astringent. The plant is also useful in treating scurvy, fever, urinary tract infections, sore throats, nausea, and mouth sores.
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Q: How do you use Woodsorrel?
A: Wood sorrel should be used fresh. Pick off the leaves, flowers, and immature seed pods to put in salads, avoiding older, tough stems. Eat it raw or cooked. Wood sorrel has a tart, lemon-like flavor and goes well with meat and fish.
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Q: What are the healing properties of sorrel?
A: Sorrel is a great source of antioxidants, which are beneficial compounds that protect your cells from damage by neutralizing harmful free radicals. Antioxidants may help prevent many chronic conditions, including heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes ( 6 ).
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Q: When should you eat sorrel?
A: Sorrel is also commonly wilted into soups and incorporated into pasta dishes to add brightness and acidity. Sorrel also makes a great addition to a spring greens mixture, adding a tangy herbaceous flavor while holding up structurally to various dressings and toppings.
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Q: Is yellow wood sorrel the same as clover?
A: Yellow wood sorrel has bright green clover-like leaves and a small yellow five-petaled flower. Like clover, the leaves are palmately compound (leaflets radiating from a single point, like fingers from a palm) in threes, but unlike clover, the leaves are heart-shaped. The flower is ⅜ to ½ inch in diameter.
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Q: Can you eat yellow woodsorrel?
A: Yellow wood sorrel is also known as sour grass because its leaves have a mildly sour taste. In fact, every part o this flower, including the leaves, flowers, and seed pods, are edible. Sorrel is a common addition to salads, soups, and sauces and can be used to make tea.
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Q: Who should not eat sorrel?
A: Speak with a healthcare professional before using sorrel if you have ever had or are at risk of getting kidney stones. Surgery: Sorrel can slow blood clotting. This might cause extra bleeding during and after surgery. Stop using sorrel at least 2 weeks before a scheduled surgery.
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Q: Can you eat Woodsorrel raw?
A: Eating. Wood sorrel should be used fresh. Pick off the leaves, flowers, and immature seed pods to put in salads, avoiding older, tough stems. Eat it raw or cooked.
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Q: Is Woodsorrel a shamrock?
A: Plants called shamrock include the wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) of the family Oxalidaceae, or any of various plants of the pea family (Fabaceae), including white clover (Trifolium repens), suckling clover (T. dubium), and black medic (Medicago lupulina).
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Q: Is yellow woodsorrel invasive?
A: Creeping Yellow Wood Sorrel is an invasive weed. The most abundant of these acid-tasting plants is common yellow wood sorrel (Oxalis stricta). A few species of wood sorrels have subterranean bulbs which are of some value to wildlife.
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Q: Is Yellow Wood Sorrel poisonous to dogs?
A: The leaves come in a variety of colors, such as white, lavender, and light yellow. Sorrel poisoning in dogs is a result of dogs ingesting all or part of the sorrel plant, which contains soluble calcium oxalates. These compounds are toxic to dogs. Protect yourself and your pet.
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Q: Should I remove Oxalis?
A: Cultural Control Oxalis flowers and produces seeds heavily in the spring and summer but can produce both all year long. Small plants can easily be handpicked or dug as they appear before they flower or form seeds. Removal of all vegetative portions of the plant, including roots and rhizomes, is important.
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Q: Why is Oxalis a problem?
A: Low growing Oxalis is more of a nuisance than anything else. If allowed to get out of control, it can form a dense carpet of foliage that suppresses the growth of other plants. This would make it a particular problem in a permanent planting like an asparagus patch.
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Q: What animals eat Yellow Wood Sorrel?
A: The leaves and stems of wood sorrel are readily eaten by all classes of livestock, deer and antelope. Forage value for deer and antelope is good.
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Q: Is creeping Woodsorrel toxic?
A: All parts of the plant have toxic potential, although the possibility of serious effects is usually limited to ingestions of large quantities. Consuming Oxalis species can produce colic in horses, and kidney failure is possible if significant amounts are eaten.
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Q: Is yellow woodsorrel poisonous?
A: The poisonous substances in the yellow wood sorrel are soluble calcium oxalates (oxalic acid). Eating any part of this plant can cause colic and kidney failure if enough is consumed.
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Q: How do I get rid of yellow Woodsorrel in my lawn?
A: The two primary methods for managing creeping woodsorrel are removing established plants and controlling germinating seeds. You can control established plants with handweeding, hand cultivation with hoes and weeding tools, and postemergent herbicides. Try to control plants before they flower and set seed.
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Q: Is Oxalis good for anything?
A: Oxalis is actually an excellent plant for bees and butterflies. When blooming, it provides “copious nectar.†In fact, it generously gives away its nectar. Since it doesn’t set seed, it doesn’t benefit from pollinators – but it’s a food source for honey bees, bumblebees and butterflies.
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Q: Is yellow woodsorrel poisonous to dogs?
A: The leaves come in a variety of colors, such as white, lavender, and light yellow. Sorrel poisoning in dogs is a result of dogs ingesting all or part of the sorrel plant, which contains soluble calcium oxalates. These compounds are toxic to dogs. Protect yourself and your pet.
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Q: Do bees like yellow woodsorrel?
A: An important source of pollen and nectar for small native bees and pollinators throughout the growing season, this plant also supports a variety of small birds such as Bobwhites, Painted Buntings, and several species of sparrow, all of which eat the seeds.
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Q: Is sorrel toxic to humans?
A: Sorrel is POSSIBLY UNSAFE when taken by mouth in large amounts, since it might increase the risk of developing kidney stones. There is also a report of death after consuming a large amount (500 grams) of sorrel.
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