8o 
The BRITISH HERBAL. 
GENUS XX. 
WOOD SORREL. 
o X r s. 
npHE flower confifts of a fingle petal, very deeply divided into five fegments ; fo that they adhere 
only at the bafe : the fruit is a fingle capfule, of a five-cornered fhape, divided into five cells 
within, and contains numerous feeds, which leap out with violence when the capfule burfts open : 
the cup is very fmall ; it is formed of a fingle leaf, divided into five fegments, and remains with the 
feed-velTd. 
Linnaeus places this among the decandria fentagynia ; the threads in each Rower being ten, and the 
ftyles rifing from the rudiment of the capfule five. He calls it oxalist a word many of the botani- 
cal writers have alfo ufed ; but oitys is the more univerfally received: the alteration is trifling; 
and, while it can do no good, may breed confufion, the comnmi fond being called by many writers 
by that name. 
DIVISION I. BRITISH SPECIES. 
Wood Sorrel. 
Oxys vulgaris. 
The root is fiender, irregularly notched, and 
creeping, and has numerous fibres. 
The leaves rife in many little clufters, and 
From their colour and manner of growing have 
a very beautiful appearance. 
The footifalks are long, tender, weak, and 
redidi ; and they rife ten, twelve, or more, from 
the fame head : at the top of each ftand three 
leaves \ thefe are of a heart-fafhioned fhape, the 
point being the end at which they join the ftalk ; 
from this they grow broader all the way, and are 
indented at the middle of the large end. 
The flowers are moderately large, and white, 
with abluCh of red : they ftand on fiiort and fien- 
der footfiralks rifing imnnediately from the root, and 
feem compofed each of five petals : the divifion 
is fo deep, that thefe parts join only at the bafe. 
The feed-vefl'el islongilh; and, when the feeds 
are ripe, it burfiis with violence on the lead 
touch, or with the wind, and fcatters the feeds. 
It is common in woods, and flowers in March. 
This is the only fpecies we have native of 
England; but when it grows in drier places, it is 
fmaller, and flowers later. This has by fome 
been defcribed as a diftinft fpecies ; but there is no 
more difference than what the common accidents 
of foil and fituation give. 
It is a pleafant, cooling, and ufeful plant. A 
conferve is made of it, which allays the burning 
heat of the mouth in fevers. 
It is alfo good againfl obflrtidtions of the vif- 
cera ; to this purpofc the juice fliould be taken. 
DIVISION n. FOREIGN SPECIES. 
T. Yellow Wood Sorrel; 
0.v)'J lutea. 
The root is long, fiender, divided into feveral 
parts, and furnifhed with many fibres. 
I'he firfl: leaves arc fmall, and ftand on naked 
pedicles or footftalks, three on each, in the man- 
ner of the common 'wood forrel, but fmaller, and 
paler, and the ftalk is Ihorter. 
Among thefe rife numerous ftalks : they are 
eight or ten inches long, round, tender, very 
much branched -, and they lie upon the ground, 
taking root at the joints. 
The leaves on thefe ftand irregularly, and in 
all refpedls refemble thofe from the roots : they 
have long, flender footftallcs, and three ftand on 
each : thefe are narrow, and of a heart-fafhioned 
fhape, the point growing to the ftalk, and the 
other end being deeply dented. 
The flowers itand on fhort footftalks, two or 
more together, and are fmall and yellow. 
The feed-veflel is long and edged. 
It is common in damp and fliady places in 
Italy, and flowers in May. 
C. Bauhine calls it 1'rifolium acetofum cornicu- 
latum. Others, Osys luten, and Oxys liiteo 
fiore. I 
2. Upright American Wood Sorrel. 
Oxys Americana ere£Ia. 
The root is long, flender, and divided into 
many parts. 
The firft leaves are numerous, and ftand on 
long footftalks: they rife in a thick tuft, and 
on each footftalk there are three ; they are broad, 
heart-fafliioned, and of a pale green. 
The ftalk riles in the midft of thefe, and is hol- 
low, ftriated, pale, and a foot and half high. 
The leaves ftand irregularly on this, and re- 
femble thofe from the root : they have long foot- 
ftalks, and grow three on each, and are heart- 
fafhioned. 
The flowers grow alfo on the tops of long, 
flender footftalks, many in a clufter : they are 
fmall, and of a pale yellow, and quickly fall off. 
The feed-veflTel Is long, pointed, and edged, 
and the cup remains with it. 
This is frequent in Virginia, and other parts 
of North America, and flowers in May. 
Tournefort calls it O^ys Americana ereSlior. 
3. Purple 
