Violet Wood Sorrel is very rare in New England with only a handful of populations found in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. There are other parts of the country where it is more common. For centuries Native Americans have found medicinal and culinary uses for this elusive plant.
Violet Wood Sorrels's scientific name is Oxalis violacea and it is a member of the Wood Sorrel family, Oxalidaceae. It is a low-growing perennial herb found growing on woodland slopes and in clusters on stream banks or in moist prairies. It has heart-shaped, purple-tinged leaves and purple flowers that bloom from late May through early June. This plant is stemless and only grows to ten inches with leaves and stalk emerging from a scaly bulbous base. The leaves have a similar appearance to small clovers like the shamrock. The flowers have five petals and are arranged in an umbel atop a stalk that has overlapping leaves. The root system consists of small bulbs with fibrous roots that can multiply forming clonal offsets. The range of Violet Wood Sorrel extends from Connecticut and Massachusetts west to North Dakota, New Mexico, and Arizona and south to the Gulf States.
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Medicinal & Culinary Uses
All parts of this plant are edible, flowers, leaves, stems, and the bulb. It was a traditional food source of the Apache, Cherokee, Omaha, Pawnee, and Ponca peoples. The bulbs were eaten raw or broiled. The leaves were mixed with other leaves and cooked. The Omaha and Pawnee pounded the bulbs and fed them to their horses to increase their stamina. The Cherokee among other Native American communities found many medicinal uses for this plant. They made a salve of an infusion of leaves and mixed it with sheep grease and applied it to sores. An infusion was taken and used as a wash to treat children with hookworm. A cold infusion of the leaves was taken to stop vomiting. The leaves were chewed to relieve a sore throat and to treat a sore mouth.
Did You Know
Today, Violet Wood Sorrel is rare in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Michigan.
The Oxalis species is also known as sour grass and shamrock.
Oxalis is from the Greek word meaning sour.
This plant should not be eaten in large quantities due to the high concentration of oxalic acid which can be poisonous.
Bees are attracted to the flower for nectar or pollen.
The seeds are eaten by upland game birds, and songbirds including Morning Doves, Field Sparrows, and Horned Larks.
The Cottontail Rabbit sometimes eats the foliage even though it has a high concentration of oxalic acid.
The ones I have in my yard have yellow flowers maybe just a varient the leaves have a sour taste.
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