OXALIS ACETOSELLA. WoOD-SoRREL. 
OXALIS Llnnai Gen. PI. Decandria Pentagynia. 
Cal. 5-phyllus. Petala unguibus connexa. Caps, angulis dehifens, 5-gona. 
Paii Syn. Gen. 18. Herb,® fructu sicco singulari flore monopetalo. 
OXALIS Acetofella fcapo unifloro, foliis ternatis obcordatis, radice dentata. Linnai. Syjl. Vegetab. p. 360. 
Sp. Pl. p. 620. FI. Suecic. n. 406. 
OXYS fcapo unifloro, foliis ternatis, radice fquamofo-articulata. Haller, hijl. p. 402. 
OXYS Acetofella. Scopoli FI. Carniol. n. 561. 
TRIFOLIUM acetofum vulgare. Baubin. pin. 330. Parlinfon. 746. 
OXYS alba. Ger. emac. 1261. 
ACETOSELLA et Lujula feu Alleluja Offic. Raii Syn. p. *281, Wood-Sorrel. 
RADIX perennis, horizontalis, fquamofo-dentata, ru- 
berrima. 
FOLIA terna, obcordata, ex flavo-virefcentia, fubtus 
ftepe purpurea, pilis raris adfperfa, petiolis 
longis infidentia. 
PETIOLI palmares, ereftiufculi, teneri, e bulbillo 
vaginante prodeuntes, ad bafin ruberrimi, te- 
retes, fuperne ad unum latus lulcati. 
FLORES albi aut carnei, venis rubris eleganter ftriati. 
SCAPI uniflori, longitudine foliorum, bra&asis duabus 
ovato-acutis vagiuantibus prope apicem in- 
ftrudti. 
CALYX : Peri anthium quinquepartitum, breve, per- 
fiftens, maculis purpureis fepe notatum, laci- 
niis obtufiufculis margine membranaceis, _/£§-. 1 . 
COROLLA : Petala quinque, unguibus paululum 
incurvatis receptaculo affixa, et paulo lupra 
ungues cohaerentia, obtufa, fubcrenata, bafi 
flavedine tin&a, fig. 2. 
STAMINA: Filamenta decem, erebta, alba, quin- 
que exteriora breviora, fig. 3, 4 : Anther® 
flavefcentes, biloculares,'^. 5. 
PISTILLUM : Germen quinquangulare, viride : 
Styli quinque capillares, flaminibus paulo 
longiores: Stigmata obtufa,^-. 6, 7. 
PERICARPiUM : Capsula fubovata, pentagona, 
maculata, quinquelocularis, angulis longitudi- 
naliter dehifcentibus, fig. 8, 8. 
SEMINA : tria in fingulo loculamento, cordata, per 
longitudinem ftriata, utrinque convexa, rufa, 
Arillo nitido albo elaftico inclufa, quo dif- 
rupto ejiciuntur, Jig. 9, 9. 
Hudfon. FI. Angi. p. 173. 
Lightfoot. FI. Scot. p. 238. 
| ROOT perennial, horizontal, fcaly, and of a bright 
I red colour. 
I LEAVES growing three together, inverfely heart- 
. ; fliaped, of a yellowilh green colour, frequent- 
ly purple underneath, befet with a few hairs, 
; and fitting on long foot-ftalks. 
■ ■ LEAF-STALKS about three inches long, nearly up- 
right, tender, proceeding from a little bulb 
; ; Which forms a kind of {heath to it ; at bottom 
: very red and round ; the upper part grooved 
on one fide. 
FLOWERS white or flelh coloured, and elegantly 
ftreaked with red veins. 
; FLOWER-STALK, fupporting a fingle bloflom, the 
length of the leaves, furnilhed near the top 
; with two oval pointed Bratteae, which partly 
furround it. 
■ CALYX : a Peri anthium deeply divided into five feg- 
; ments, fhort and permanent, often {potted 
with purple ; the fegments bluntifli, and 
membranous at the edges, fig. 1. 
’ COROLLA : five Petals, affixed to the receptacle 
by the claws, which bend a little inward, juft 
; above the claws adhering together, blunt, 
; flightly crenated, and tinged at bottom with 
: yellow, fig. 2. 
; STAMINA: ten Filaments, upright and white, the 
five exterior ones lhorteft, fig. 3, 4; Anthe- 
r® yellowilh, and bilocular, fig. 5. 
; PISTILLUM : a Germen, four corner’d and green : 
Styles five, very {lender, and a little longer 
than the Stamina: Stigmata blunt, fig. 6, 7. 
SEED-VESSELL : a Capsule fomewhat oval, five 
cornered, {potted, with five cavities, the an- 
; gles burfting longitudinally, fig. 8, 8. 
: SEEDS : three in each cavity, heart-ffiaped, and 
grooved longitudinally, convex on both fides, 
of a bright reddilh brown colour, andinclofed 
within a Ihining white elaftic Arillus, which 
burfting they are thrown out, fig. 9, 9. 
IN this little plant, there is a delicacy of ftru&ure fuperior to what we obferve in moft : there are fomecircum- 
ftances alfo in the oeconomy of the plant not lefs worthy our attention ; and which, I believe, have not hitherto 
been noticed. The firft of thefe is the fame procefs, with refpedt to the plants feeding, which we obferve in the 
Violets. If this plant be attentively obferved, it will be found to continue producing feed-veflels and feeds, during 
the greateft part of the fummer, without any appearance of expanded blofloms, which are only obfervabk at one 
particular feafon of the year. As foon as the plant has done flowering, the flower-ftalk, as in many other plants, 
bends down ; and when the feed is ripe, again becomes upright. The fecond is, if thefe feed-veflells, when ripe’ 
are {lightly prefled, they open at the angles, and the feeds are thrown out at the apertures ; but not from any 
elafticity in the capfule itfelf, which continues unchanged : but the caufe of their propulfion is a ftrong white ftii- 
ning arillus, which covers the feed, and which burfting, by its elafticity throws the feeds to a confiderable diftance. 
There are but few woods about us in which the Wood-Sorrel does not occur. It will not grow in a garden unleis 
it has {hade. 
April and May are the months in which it flowers. 
It is faid to vary with blueilh and purple- coloured blofloms. 
The leaves in wet weather, are expanded ; but in dry weather they droop ; LinnH FI. Suecic. They are alfo 
faid by fome authors, to manifeft a degree of fenfibility on being ftruck. Poflefling a very grateful acid 
tafte, luperior to common Sorrel, they have been ufed as an antileptic medicine, in malignant fevers, the 
fcurvy, and all thofe difeafes in which acids are indicated. The only form at prefent in ufe, is a conferve of the 
leaves: but the fyrup, infufion, and juice of the leaves, and the leaves themfelves, have been ufed indifferently. 
The eflential fait, extrafted from it by chryfiallization, is made ufe of for taking out iron moulds and fpots of 
ink from linen : for this purpofe, the ftained part is dipped in water, fprinkled with a little of the' powdered fait, 
then rubbed on a pewter plate, after which the fpot is wafhed out with warm water ; Newman's Chan, by Lewis. 
Twenty pounds of frefh Sorrel leaves yielded lix pounds of juice ; from which were obtained two ounces, two 
drams, and one fcruple of chryftalline fait ; ibid. 
According to experiments made by Dr. Lobb , a piece of human calculus was diflolved in the juice of this 
plant in nine days ; Rutty's Mat. Med. 
