Pretty Little Yellow Flowers!

  I think that I have mentioned it before but during this season of colds and sore throats, anything that may bring a bit of relief bears repeating.  I was out in the yard for a few minutes between rainstorms and noticed that the Oxalis are blooming.  Just recently, I was elated to find the purple ones in full bloom but now the yellows have joined in on the wintertime fun.  This is good timing, I say, as the Oxalis or Wood Sorrel have a slight medicinal property that helps to soothe sore throats.  Picking a handful of the leaves and steeping them for a few minutes makes a fine tisane.  Simply pour boiling water over the leaves and let sit for a bit.  Strain and add a bit of honey!  Now you can either sip this like a tea or gargle with it.  While this is not a lasting treatment, it does soothe the soreness for a while and with the honey is very healing.  So, those tiny plants that are the bane of folks who love an all grass lawn, should be welcome in our yards.  I know they are in mine!  One word of caution to those folks who might suffer from gout, kidney disease or arthritis, you might want to steer clear from eating any Oxalis.  It is said to cause problems with these maladies.  This is due to the oxalic acid and oxalates contained in all parts of the plant.  To be honest, even though I have a slight bit of arthritis in my hands, I have never had a problem with the plant other than it being a bit sour and, by the way, all parts of this plant are edible!  Fun stuff!

  Another cool fact about the Wood Sorrel, all parts can be used to make a yellow dye!  Even the green stems and leaves when boiled will turn the water yellow.  What fun!  My oldest son and I played with natural dyes some twenty years ago.  We gathered all sorts of plants and dyed some snippets of unbleached, natural cotton fabric.  While the dyes did not have the brilliance of the artificial colorings of today, it did give us the idea of what our grandparents and great-grandparents might have done so many years ago.  It was a fantastic learning experience!

  So, with all the fun things associated with the Wood Sorrel, you may now understand why I never intentionally remove the plants.  I let them grow where they may and just enjoy them!