wood sorrel ??

[sunnydale]

Originally Posted by leifus

there's an article called willd food or something in the April BBC wildlife magazine about wood sorrel.

Says its a nice thing to have raw in a salad

I'm sticking to wild garlic leaves and that's that!

[Jim Ford]

Oxalic acid in contained in rhubarb stems as well as the leaves. The small amounts that you'll take in from sorrel leaves isn't going to harm you.

I understand that the oxalic acid combines with calcium in the body to produce the insoluble crystals of calcium oxalate. My wife, who worked in microbiology, said that she could always tell that a person had eaten rhubarb the previous day, from the crystals in ther urine sample!

You ingest plenty of naturally occuring poisons with your food - cyanide/prussic acid is one that people have died from eating too many apricot (IIRC) kernels. You'll also find horseradish listed in the 'Oxford Book of Poisonous Plants'.

Jim

[kiltoncomp]

Originally Posted by sunnydale

I'm sticking to wild garlic leaves and that's that!

sounds like the safest way to go
it never fails to amaze me, the knowledge and information you can get from just a simple query on anything on this forum!!

(i have a patch of wild garlic at the top of the garden which is slowly beginning to spread, it was salvaged from a skip (two bulbs) during some excavation works on the restoration of the local canal, and tried a few leaves with some mushrooms, which tasted great),

Brian.

[The Woodman]

Wood Sorrells Latin taxon name is Oxalis acetosella. This is derived from the Greek oxis meaning acid, which alludes to the acidity of the leaves. Acetosella is an old generic name from the Latin acetum, meaning sour, as in the leaves.

As Jim and Wikipedia say "Historically, people have extracted calcium oxalate, or "sal acetosella" from the plant, through boiling. It is slightly toxic, as oxalic acid is known to interfere with food digestion."

Also, "Calcium oxalate also forms a major component of beerstone, a brownish precipitate that tends to accumulate within vats, barrels and other containers used in the brewing of beer.[1] Beerstone is composed of calcium and magnesium salts and various organic compounds left over from the brewing process; it promotes the growth of unwanted microorganisms that can adversely affect or even ruin the flavor of a batch of beer.

Calcium oxalate crystals in the urine are the most common constituent of human kidney stones, and calcium oxalate crystal formation is also one of the toxic effects of ethylene glycol poisoning."

Advice is - if you're about to have a urine test don't eat rhubarb, drink beer or antifreeze the day before!

[Feldspar]

Aw Gawwwd, what have I started?

Yes, the wise woman (or man) does not consume great handfuls of the stuff

Everything, and I mean everything in moderation!

[leifus]

i tried some wood sorrel today and its quite nice!!

[KeenTeen17]

Originally Posted by leifus

i tried some wood sorrel today and its quite nice!!

told you ! its ace isn't it! I didn't know it was an acid though I usually take a large lump of leaves and munch my through them when I walk through the woods. Thats why I have a cavity on my back tooth

[Maverick47]

The i.d. and info is spot on for wood sorrel, nice to see people trying a taste as well, the taste for me is reminisent of apple peel.
I've had kidney stones in the past (not reccomended!) so I never have too many.

[ChrisJB]

Wood sorrel I find rather pleasant to nibble on, but for the cowardy custards out there, normal sorrel (Rumex acetosa) tastes similar, though slightly better in my book. Chew it on the back gnashers for that extra zing (I should be in toothpaste advertising).

Regards, Chris

[leifus]

Originally Posted by KeenTeen17

told you ! its ace isn't it! I didn't know it was an acid though I usually take a large lump of leaves and munch my through them when I walk through the woods. Thats why I have a cavity on my back tooth

thanks for the extra info there Jack