Sheep Sorrel - Salad Green/Cancer Fighter

"Invasive plants - Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines." quoted from Herbal Antibiotics, Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria, by Stephen Harrod Buhner.

Weeding or harvesting?

Sheep sorrel has my attention.  For years I have been trying to eradicate this pesky weed from one of my perennial beds without success. 

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This spring I was perusing one of my favorite wild foods books,  Edible Wild Plants, Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate, by John Kallas and I came across sheep sorrel and recognized the weed that had been plaguing me for years!  The book recommended this lemony tasting green as a nice addition to a salad mix.  The book also has recipes for a pesto and soup feature this weed.

Sheep sorrel in early spring.

Sheep sorrel is grown before the hosta leaves are open.

I love when disparate pieces of information come together in an "ah ha" moment.  And an "ah ha" moment it was when I realized this weed was one of the four herbs found in Renee Caisse's Essiac cancer fighting formula I had read about this winter after watching the documentary, "Cancer the Forbidden Cures".  Once I became aware of Essiac I found recipes for it in many of my herbal medicine books, the actual product on line, and the herbal mix online at Mountain Rose Herbs.

Mali Klein, an herbalist from Europe, stated in a video that the roots of this plant contains the most potent active ingredients and should be included when brewing Essiac tea.  Most commercial suppliers of sheep sorrel do not include the root, so by harvesting sheep sorrel yourself, root and all, you can enjoy the maximum benefits of this herb.

Sheep sorrel roots grow both vertically and horizontally.

In Matthew Woods book, The Earthwise Herbal, sheep sorrel's reputation for for use with tumors began as early as 1814.

So this most maligned "weed" can not only be used to spice up a salad, but also has medicinal qualities that can help fight cancer.  To learn more about sheep sorrel and Essiac, check out this great website.

Sheep sorrel dried and ready to store

Please note: The objective of this blog is to raise awareness of alternative ways to achieve wellness and to empower you to take an active role in your health decisions.  To accomplish this, you will need to explore these subjects in greater depth and then determine what makes sense for your life.  My hope is that this information will inspire you to start your own search into ways to make your life happier, healthier and more fulfilling.