Weed Lovin' Witchery: Yellow Wood Sorrel

The lovable lawn weed series (Purple Deadnettle, Hairy Bittercress, Plantain) continues:

Yellow Wood Sorrel
Oxalis stricta

Yellow wood sorrel is easily distinguished from clovers and black medic by its heart shaped leaves (rather than oval) and cute, five petaled flower (rather than the familiar, spiky looking clover flower). A close relative of yellow wood sorrel in the same family is commonly sold around St. Patrick’s day as shamrock.

 For eating: Tasty, sour, lemony, but not bitter. People have been eating this raw or cooked for ages. I loved the flavor of the oxalis family as a kid and still do. Good with fish or as tea or in a salad. All parts are edible. BUT it contains oxalic acid, so don’t make it the main element of your diet. (Who would? But just in case…) People who have gout, kidney problems, rheumatic conditions and any other quirky problem that reacts to oxalic acid should clearly not eat it.

For healing: High in healthy vitamin C, wood sorrel is also good for stopping bleeding, cooling fevers and soothing the stomach. It is a mild diuretic and can induce appetite in those who are sick. Use in a poultice for swelling.

For witching: Wood sorrel has a rather magical reputation. Like many herbs with healing properties, it is used in healing magic. It also associated with faeries, woodland spirits and luck.

For wildlife: Native to North America & parts of Europe & eaten by butterflies.

Weed lovin' witchery: Narrowleaf Plantain

The lovable lawn weed series (Purple Deadnettle, Hairy Bittercress) continues:

Narrowleaf Plantain
Plantago lanceolata
a.k.a. Ribwort (note the ribbed leaves)

Do you have a lawn? Do you ever see lawns? You have seen this stuff. I have seen it in diverse areas of the U.S. without ever realizing that I was standing on a goldmine of health benefits. It won’t flower until later in the season, so for now the key thing is the ribbed leaves. Also, narrow leaf and broadleaf (wider, rounder leaves, but still ribbed) plantain have the same uses. Neither is related to the starchy food plantain.

For eating: The leaves are edible stir fried or boiled and are full of good-for-you antioxidants. Young leaves are preferable especially raw in salads, but older leaves can be used after their tough, parallel veins are removed.

For healing: Crushed leaves produce an astringent, anti-toxic, antibacterial, hemostatic and anti-inflammatory juice that can be applied to cuts, insect bites and stings. It is also an expectorant, anticatarrhal and demulcent, useful as a fresh or dried tea for respiratory issues, colds and coughing. In fact, this is pretty much a miracle plant that’s good for everything. Make the tea as needed or carry it dried in a first aid kit, chew and apply to bites (or find it fresh and crush or chew). Make a vodka tincture or an oil infusion and take only 2-3 drops as needed. Make an ointment for diaper rash and hemorrhoids.

For witching: Plantain, so widely regarded as a heal-all herb, can be used for health and healing spells. Its soothing, calming, toxin-neutralizing and protective properties can be used magically as well as physically. It is especially good for taking the sting out of arguments and creating a well protected and happy home.

For wildlife: Like most garden weeds, it is not native to North America. However, birds are fond of plantain seeds, which contain a higher percentage of oil than many seeds and are grown commercially and included in some bird seed mixtures. Children sometimes play games with the long flower stalks. Children count as wildlife.

Weed lovin' witchery: Hairy Bittercress

Hairy Bittercress
Cardamine hirsute
A.K.A. Snapweed

For eating: Edible, but neither bitter nor hairy. It is peppery and a wee bit sour, and can make a nice addition to salads while it is young and tender, before it goes to seed. Eat it before it takes over your garden. Once the seed pods ripen, yellow and start shooting out seeds, it is no longer tasty.

For witching: As a peppery herb, it can be used for curses. It is tough-as-nails and able to withstand hard freezes and infertile soil. It’s up and flowering long before most plants are ready to brave the cold. With an amazing quality called “explosive propagation” (it shoots seeds out up to 10 feet!) it can help direct intention and amp up workings in a pretty aggressive way. Do not let its delicate stems and pretty little flowers fool you. (But perhaps you can use it to fool someone else.)

For wildlife: It is not a native species to North America, but early spring butterflies like it.

Weed lovin' witchery: Purple Deadnettle

Lamium purpureum
Purple deadnettle
a.k.a Archangel

Purple dead nettle is popping up all over the place at this time of year, including here at the little Victorian. Aside from being cute and sporting a pretty combination of purple and green, it is both medicinal and edible.

For eating: It doesn't have a strong flavor, but it is a superfood, packed with fiber, iron, antioxidants and vitamins. I've had it raw, but it can also be cooked. It looks pretty on a salad.

For healing: The leaves and flowers can be dried and teas can be made from the plant either fresh or dried. Purple deadnettle is a diuretic, styptic, astringent and tonic, among other things. It's leaves can be bruised and applied to cuts.

For witching: Popping up in the earliest spring-like moments, purple deadnettle is a maideny herb. In older folklore it was said to be a cheerful herb that makes the heart merry. It grows enthusiastically were groundcover is patchy or where the soil has been disturbed, pointing to a tenacious nature and the ability to make something lovely and useful out of a barren environment. It is called deadnettle, because sometimes folks mistake it for nettle, but this gentle plant has no sting. Archangel is an alternate term, coming from the time time that it blooms and the saint's feat day.

For wildlife: Bees, helpful pollinators, enjoy it enormously.