Description

Sheep’s Sorrel Cut & Sifted Herb (Rumex Acetosella)

HERB COMMON NAME :  Sheep’s Sorrel

HERB SCIENTIFIC NAME :   Rumex Acetosella

OTHER NAMES :  Field Sorrel, Sour Weed, Red Sorrel

FAMILY :  Polygonaceae

ASSOCIATIONS & CORRESPONDENCES :

• Element: Earth
• Planet: Venus
• Direction: North
• Zodiac Sign: Taurus
• Chakra: 2nd Sacral Chakra (Svadisthana)
• Energy: Yin
• Gender: Feminine
• Spirit Animal: sheep, goat
• Deity or God / Goddess Association: Pan, Hermes

Parts Used:  Herb

Description:  Sheep’s sorrel is a weedy perennial plant that inhabits pastures and meadows, often to the point of invasiveness. It is distinguished from other sorrels, like garden sorrel or French sorrel, from its smaller size and reddish tint the foliage takes on in late summer.

The herb has a long history of use in Europe as a vegetable and salad green. The lemony, tart flavor of the leaf is enjoyed in tea blends and as a seasoning in soups, stews and other cooked foods. It is also used in making tarts and jellies. Sheep’s sorrel is also a traditional curdling agent that is still used by artisan cheese makers.

Sheep’s sorrel is high in vitamins A, B, and C. It has a gentle laxative effect that assists the body with detoxification and may help reduce stomach and intestinal spasms in people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The high amount of vitamin C lends to its use to helping scurvy. It is sometimes used to help fight fever. And due to its vermifugal features, it is also used to help kill intestinal worms and fight cholera.

Sheep’s sorrel is rich in phytoestrogens and can be used to help symptoms of menopause.

Sheep’s sorrel has also been used historically for inflammation, cancer, and diarrhea. It is one of four ingredients in Essiac, an alternative cancer treatment. Essiac was developed in the 1920s by Rene Caisse, a Canadian nurse. It contains Burdock Root, Sheep’s Sorrel, Slippery Elm, and Rhubarb. Essiac is still used today particularly to help prevent growth of prostate cancer cells. The efficacy of its ability to heal or prevent cancer has not been proven.

Historical Uses:  constipation, laxative, cleanse, detox, irritable bowel syndrome, scurvy, fever, blood purifying, intestinal worms, cholera, menopause, low estrogen, diuretic, digestion, indigestion

Mystical Attributes:  In some cultures, sheep’s sorrel symbolizes the cross and the trinity. Before Christianity, it was considered a sacred plant. To the Druids of Ireland, it was sacred because its leaves formed a triad.

Sheep’s sorrel can be used as incense to protect cattle against disease and worms.

Mystical Intentions:  protection of livestock

Taste & Smell:  Has a sour, tart, lemony flavor similar to rhubarb.

Botany, Cultivation & Harvesting:  Rumex acetosella is found in central and southeastern Europe, including Britain, as far north as Scandanavia and Iceland, and has been introduced to most of the rest of the northern hemisphere.

This plant produces a slender and reddish upright stem, which is branched at the top. It will grow to a height of approximately 18 inches, with its small, arrow-shaped leaves being slightly longer than 1 inch (3 cm). The leaves are smooth with a pair of horizontal lobes at the base.

Sheeps’s sorrel flowers bloom from March to November. The plant’s yellowish-green male flowers and reddish female flowers develop at the apexes of the stems on separate plants. These blooms will develop into the plant’s red fruits. These fruits are achenes, meaning they are one-seeded, small, dry fruits that do not open to release their seed.

Sheeps’s sorrel is often considered to be a hard-to-control noxious weed due to its spreading rhizome. It is commonly found in sunny fields, grasslands, and woodlands. It thrives in floodplains and near marshes. It is often one of the first plants to grow in disturbed areas, especially places with acidic soils such as abandoned mining sites.

Sow seeds in spring or fall directly into the garden soil for best results, you can also divide the plant in spring and plant out the divisions.

Sheep sorrel may be harvested throughout spring, summer, and fall, late in the afternoon or early in the morning if the dew on the plants has evaporated. Dry the leaves and plant parts for later use.

Contraindications & Toxicity:

• May cause allergic reaction.
• May block the absorption of minerals like calcium.
• Avoid with a history of kidney disease or kidney stones.
• May contribute to the formation of calcium oxalate kidney stones, which are hard mineral deposits in the kidneys that can cause symptoms like pain, nausea, and vomiting.
• May slow blood clotting.
• May cause increased risk of potassium loss and increased hypokalemia risk due to laxative effects.
• Contains oxalic acid which can be poisonous if consumed in large quantities.
• High in purines, which may lead to gout or kidney inflammation, particularly in those with a history of those conditions.

Constituents:

• Vitamins A, B-complex, C, D, E, K, and P
• Calcium
• Iron
• Sulfur
• Sodium
• Magnesium
• Copper
• Manganese
• Iodine
• Chlorine
• Silicon
• Zinc
• Beta Carotene
• Oxalic
• Malic
• Tartaric
• Tannic Acids
• Proteins

Sources: https://spiritartsandherbs.com/sources

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