Wood Sorrel

Today we’re talking about a very easy forage that I personally love!

It is nutrient dense, full of flavor, and even kids get a kick out of it: Wood sorrel

Plant Profile:

Scientific Name: Oxalis stricta (“Common yellow wood sorrel”, or “lemon sorrel”, sometimes called “sourgrass”)

(Though, a handful of species are commonly eaten in certain places: Oxalis corniculata: Creeping Woodsorrel, Oxalis pescaprae: Bermuda Buttercup, Oxalis acetosella: European Wood-Sorrel, Oxalis dillenii: Slender Yellow Woodsorrel, and Oxalis debilis: Largeflower Pink-Sorrel)

Preferred Habitat: A wide variety of soils and conditions; woodland pathways, gardens, lawns, disturbed soils, roadsides, meadows, weedy areas.

Edible Parts: Entire plant

Distribution: Most of North America

Harvest Season: Spring through late summer (occasionally year-round in warm climates)

Key Identifiers: Heart-shaped leaves, tiny flowers (generally yellow, but sometimes pink or white with other species), and pointy seed pods

Toxic Look-Alikes: While no toxic look-a-likes exist, many people may confuse wood sorrels with clovers since they have three small leaflets. The best way to distinguish these two is that clover has oval or round leaves, while wood sorrels have very obviously heart-shaped leaves.

Nutrition:

While we don’t know the full nutrient content of Oxalis stricta, we do know some incredible benefits:

• High in vitamin C

• High in flavonoids

• Some fiber

• Some mineral content (Although oxalic acid can prevent you from absorbing some of these)

• Helps ease inflammation

• Contains oxalic acid (just like spinach and rhubarb do)

• Helps with wound healing

Uses

Sorrels are used mostly as a potherb but can be used fresh as a salad green or used to make a “lemon” salt or tea as well.

Note that oxalis species all contain oxalic acid which is what gives them their sour flavor.

This is generally fine. Rhubarb, cabbage family members, spinach, Rumex species, quinoa, amaranth, parsley, and starfruits all have oxalic acid as well, but some individuals might be more sensitive to it than others so start slow when eating wood sorrels!

This will not poison you or anything, but in large amounts, oxalic acid can prevent you from absorbing minerals.

Because of this, wood sorrels are usually eaten as a garnish, a snack, or an additive to whatever else you eat it with.

The flavor is sour like lemon (almost like a sour skittle) and pairs very well with meats and fish!

Culture

What little we know about the early history of wood sorrel is that it was used by native Americans as a medicine and flavoring herb. As a medicine, it was used to treat swelling, and sore throats by native Americans.

Certain species of oxalis were used as root crops (such as oca, O. tuberosa).

This plant is not closely related to Sheep Sorrel, which I wrote about almost a year ago now, but is in its own Oxalidaceae family.

This family encompasses nearly 500 species of sorrels worldwide, but O. stricta will be one of the most common species you will find in the U.S.

The seed capsules are another fun feature of this plant. When ripe, if you disturb them, they open ballistically! In other words, they launch the seeds out like tiny cannonballs! This is called “explosive dehiscence”.

This is a very cool phenomenon to watch and play with.

Growth Habit

Some Oxalis species are annual, and some are perennial. O. stricta can be both!

This plant is also native to the Americas and is actually an introduced species to the UK strangely enough (usually it’s the other way around).

They tend to grow in a wide variety of habitats including the edges of woods, pathways, gardens, disturbed soil (like construction sites and roadsides) or in pastures.

I do find that they grow a lot bigger when in partial shade than when they are in full sun, but I don’t know if this is related to the sun or if there’s another reason (like soil conditions) that affects the size.

Cultivation

Wood sorrel is very easy to grow!

Generally, I would keep it in an area that gets shade for some or most of the day, and I would let it be watered mostly by rain if you live in a non-arid climate.

There actually are a few cultivated species of Oxalis:

(Small root balls are sold as “corms” or “bulbs” not usually as seeds")

• Common Wood Sorrel (White flowers, does well in full shade, spreads fast as a groundcover)

• Autumn Pink Wood Sorrel (Tons of gorgeous pink flowers, vigorous and has unique thin leaves)

• Iron Cross (Has a cool dark purple section at the base of each of its 4 leaves, and can reach up to 1ft in height)

• Purple Shamrock (Dark purple triangular leaves, very cool looking and an easy-to-find cultivar)

Oca - This is a species of oxalis grown for its tuberous roots rather than the above-ground plant. Numerous cultivars exist!

It should also be noted that Oca comes originally from the Andes region of south America and was bred by the Incas (which I wrote about here) so some northern climates might be a little too cold to grow it well.

That said, people have successfully grown it in the Pacific Northwest region, and many vaireties can handle USDA zone 7 just fine! I would think pushing the zone on it a little wouldn’t be too hard.

It seems like the tubers freeze too much past freezing temperatures, but on top of breeding your own, you could also grow it as an annual in cold climates.

• Sunset (An early sprouting variety with orange tubers)

• Hopin Alba (Early maturity and strong vigor, grown mostly in the Pacific Northwest)

• White Salmon (A sweeter variety that has little to no tartness)

• Rosy Gem (A decent cold climate variety that can survive zones 5-9)

Thanks for reading The Naturalist!