wood sorrel

wood sorrel

noun
any of numerous plants of the genus Oxalis, especially O. acetosella, of Eurasia, having heart-shaped, trifoliolate leaves and white, pink-veined flowers.

Origin:
1515–25; translation of French sorrel de bois; replacing woodsour, so called from sour taste of the leaves
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Wood sorrel is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Collins
World English Dictionary
wood sorrel
 
n
a Eurasian plant, Oxalis acetosella, having trifoliate leaves, an underground creeping stem, and white purple-veined flowers: family Oxalidaceae

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

wood sorrel

any plant of the genus Oxalis, numbering several hundred species, within the family Oxalidaceae. The name is chiefly used for O. montana, a stemless trifoliate (i.e., with three leaflets) herb native to North America from southern Canada southward to Tennessee and westward to Minnesota. It grows about 15 cm (6 inches) tall, has pink-tinted stems, and white or reddish flowers that appear from May until August.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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