Last week’s puzzler is a woodland wildflower called common yellow wood sorrel, Oxalis stricta. Like a lot of plants it has many common names including, yellow oxalis, sour grass, shamrock, sleeping beauty, sour trefoil, sheep’s clover, northern wood sorrel, and wood shamrock. It is native to North America and can be found in 46 states. Here where I live it grows in the woods, right alongside of ferns and wild ramps. Unlike some of the other sorrels (there are more than 400 species!), common wood sorrel grows rather erect, up to 15 inches tall. It has yellow flowers with 5 petals. Many people consider it a weed though you know what they say about weeds right? It’s just a wildflower growing in the wrong place.
Have you ever seen the seeds of jewelweed burst and throw the seeds out into the forest? Common wood sorrel does the same thing–the seeds exploding when ripe, sending seeds up to 10 feet away from the plant.
Another thing that I like about this plant is that each little leaflet is shaped like a perfect heart, often outlined with a magenta color that looks like someone painted it on. And at night each heart shaped leaf folds down the center crease, like a piece of paper, opening again the next morning.
According to Wisconsin Horticulture “The leaves, flowers and unripe fruits are edible, with a sour, tart, lemony flavor. They can be added to salads, soups, or sauces, or used as a seasoning. However, it should be consumed in moderation because the plant contains rather high levels of oxalic acid which is toxic in excessive amounts. It should be avoided by those with kidney disease, kidney stones, rheumatoid arthritis, or gout.”
Okay, so now we’re going to switch tracks for the puzzlers. Ready for something besides a plant? For puzzler #250, I’m going to do a video puzzler, though the real test here will be for your EARS, not your eyes. See if you can figure it out.