wood sorrel ??

[kiltoncomp]

this was found today growing in recently cleared, previously overgrown paths through conifer plantations in Clumber Park,
although my knowledge of flowers and plants is a bit sparse, the name wood sorrel came to mind, is this what this is ?,
although it cant be seen on the pic , the flowers had a yellow base inside,
there was quite a lot of it growing along the cleared areas in small groups,



Brian.

[Jim Ford]

Yes, Wood Sorrel - see this thread:

Snowdrop like flower

Jim

[Feldspar]

I agree, I usually have a little nibble on a leaf if I pass a plant, so let's hope the ID is correct.

I hope this is allowed in this day-and-age

[kiltoncomp]

thanks to you both for the quick id on this one, and the link to the other thread,
interesting about the taste of the leaves, i will give it a try next time i find them, (keeping the dog bit in mind)

Brian.

[sunnydale]

Originally Posted by Feldspar

I agree, I usually have a little nibble on a leaf if I pass a plant, so let's hope the ID is correct.

I always thought Wood Sorrel was poisonous! It says so in my book anyway

I picked a few fresh young Ramson (wild garlic) leaves last week. They tasted yummy in my salad!

[KeenTeen17]

no they taste really nice and sweet - used in salads as well

[The Woodman]

It doesn't taste sweet to me, KT! One chewed leaf makes makes my mouth run with saliva. I was told it was Oxalic Acid that was the nasty stuff in the leaves.

[kiltoncomp]

Originally Posted by The Woodman

It doesn't taste sweet to me, KT! One chewed leaf makes makes my mouth run with saliva. I was told it was Oxalic Acid that was the nasty stuff in the leaves.

is'nt it oxalic acid that is found in rhubarb leaves ?? this apparantly killed a few people during the war time period when people where encouraged to eat the rhubarb leaves due to food shortages ??,
i think i will be giving the sorrel leaves a miss, just to be on the safe side, it's not as if we are on the point of starvation to have to eat wild plants

Brian.

[The Woodman]

Hi Brian
Your comment has prompted me to dig out Food For Free by Richard Mabey.

Under Wood Sorrell, he says a bit about the cultivation of the plant in the C14/15 and later as a cultivated salad plant used as a pulp to add sharpening to sauces but recommends using it sparingly due to the presence of "certain oxalates which are not too good for the body in large quantities".

Also, "The American Indians apparently feed the roots of this plant to their horses to increase their speed."!

That's got me thinking.....with the Olympics coming to London - could there be a specific market for "Extract of Wood Sorrell"?

[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