Chapters 6.21
6.21-Sorrel - sheep sorrel Rumex acetosella
Lauren Miller , University of Guelph, Canada
Suggested citation for this chapter.
Miller,L. (2022) Greens, Fleshy Stems and Gourds. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/
Background
Rumex acetosella is more commonly known as sheep sorrel, red sorrel, or dock sorrel (Stopps et al., 2011; White et al., 2015). In many parts of the world, this plant is thought of as a weed because it grows well in poor soils and comes back year after year. (Pedersen et al., 2010). Crops that grow again each year from the same root base are called perennial crops. This herb is part of the buckwheat family, and its flowering pattern closely resembles that of buckwheat as can be seen in Figures 1 and 2 (Korpelainen & Pietilainen, 2020). Sheep sorrel was originally found in Europe, Asia and Northern Africa but can now be found in almost every continent, except Antarctica (Pedersen et al., 2010). Across North America alone, there are 20 Indigenous People Groups who use sheep sorrel for medicinal, nutritional, and ceremonial purposes (Native American Ethnobotany DB, 2021).
Benefits to human and/or animal nutrition
Sheep sorrel is high in antioxidants, micronutrients, and macronutrients which makes it an appropriate herb to be used in medicinal settings (Isbilir & Sagiroglu, 2013). Antioxidants are molecules that attack cancer-causing cells in the body and are a crucial component of human nutrition (Schmidt et al., 2015). Sheep sorrel is most commonly consumed as a tea, which helps to clear sinus infections and bring down fevers (Korpelainen & Pietilainen, 2020). Traditionally, Indigenous peoples in North America treated the water from which sheep sorrel was boiled in as a tea, and it was consumed as such (Korpelainen & Pietilainen, 2020). When diseases such as smallpox, chicken pox and others that leave sores on the body, came to the new world, Indigenous Peoples adapted their use of sheep sorrel to help treat these illnesses too – by washing the skin with the water that sheep sorrel had been boiled in (Korpelainen & Pietilainen, 2020). In this way, sheep sorrel is versatile, as it can be used to treat internal and external illnesses and minimize the symptoms of such illnesses.
There are no known benefits or harmful implications to animal nutrition with regards to sheep sorrel, as it is common that animals eat sheep sorrel while on pasture since it grows readily in pasture fields (Pedersen et al., 2010). Since sheep sorrel is spread by seed, and consumed by animals, it is not surprising that sorrel has been spread so far across the continent. As animals consume this weed, they ingest the seeds, digest the seeds and finally the seeds are excreted in a different location than the plant was eaten. This means that new plants grow, and the cycle continues (CABI, 2021).
Benefits to alleviate poverty, create employment, improve livelihoods, and positively impact society
Sheep sorrel can positively impact the lives of Indigenous Peoples living on reserve lands near metropolitan areas of Canada due to the many health benefits it holds and the consumer demand for natural healing remedies. Many people in urban centres seek out ways to become healthier through holistic medicines and naturopathic
Figure 3: Example of packaging for dried sheep sorrel. The Pharmaceutical Plant Company Inc. (2021). [Sheep Sorrel – Australian Made Herbal Tea]. Australia. Retrieved from: https://ppcherbs.com.au/product/sheep-sorrel-herbal- tea/#:~:text=The%20bio- active%20herbs%20in%20Sheep%20Sorrel%20tea% 20have,popularity%20after%20research%20dispelle d%20any%20cancer%20treatment%20benefits.
remedies, which relates back to many Indigenous practices (Korpelainen & Pietilainen, 2020). Since sheep sorrel can be grown in most any kind of soil, those Indigenous peoples living on reserve lands with soils that are unable to grow other types of crops would be able to produce sheep sorrel. In the production of sheep sorrel on these lands,Indigenous Elders would be able to sell the sorrel to people seeking natural remedies and teach them the best ways to use this medicinal herb, as can be seen in Figure 3. In these ways, different cultures come together to learn about one another, a new stream of income has been created for Indigenous communities and life is improved.
Benefits to the environment
There are a couple reasons sheep sorrel benefits the environment around it, such as the early emergence of its flowers and the ability to grow in poor soils which Figure 4 displays (Korpelainen & Pietilainen, 2020). Since sheep sorrel grows like a weed, and thus reproduces without any intentional planting inputs from farmers, it starts to grow as soon as the frost has left the ground, which is usually
Figure 4: Sheep sorrel in the spring, growing in sandy soil, before other plants have emerged. Baseline of Health Foundation. (2021). [Sheep Sorrel]. United States of America. Retrieved from: https://www.jonbarron.org/herbal- library/herbs/sheep-sorrel.
around the end of March or early April in many parts of Canada (Kuhnlein, 1990). The early emergence of sheep sorrel means it has a long growing season. Flowers of this plant emerge at the end of April and last until frost, which is usually sometime in October (White et al., 2015). Pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, are attracted to these early-emergent species and can begin their pollination as soon as flowers emerge which creates a healthy ecosystem around sheep sorrel that allows other plants to thrive (White et al., 2015). As mentioned above, sheep sorrel is a perennial crop which means its roots help to hold soil together and keep it intact, this is especially important in sandy or silty soils where rainwater washes away nutrients found in this soil quite easily (Pedersen et al., 2010). It is also for this reason that farmers till and treat their soil, to get rid of weeds like sheep sorrel, so that other crops can be planted into a fresh, loose soil without weed pressure so early in the season (Stopps et al., 2011).
Potential benefits to women and children
Women are at a greater risk of developing urinary tract infections than are men (Mayo Clinic, 2021). Some forms of traditional medicine in Southeast Asia use the leaves of sheep sorrel to treat urinary tract infections and soothe these symptoms (Lajter et al., 2012). Sheep sorrel is consumed as a beverage or in a soup when used to treat inflammatory infections, such as a UTI (Korpelainen & Pietilainen, 2020). For these medicinal reasons, sheep sorrel has great influence on the health and well-being of women and children in Indigenous communities.
Benefits to the Soil
As previously mentioned, sheep sorrel is a common weed that grows well in a range of soil types, which is seen in Figure 5 (Pedersen et al., 2010). Sorrel is commonly found in sandy soil, that is low in nutrients and because of this, other types of crops do not grow well in sandy soils (Fransson et al., 2003). A consistent supply of phosphorus in the soil is needed for sheep sorrel to grow most efficiently, and although sandy soil does not contain much phosphorus, that which it does contain is efficiently used by sheep sorrel (Fransson et al., 2003). In this way, sheep sorrel benefits the soil because it uses nutrients efficiently, even from those light types of soil that are low in nutrients which cannot be used by other plants.
References
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