When harvesting wood sorrel, gently strip the upper leaves, immature, green seedpods and flowers off the stems All of these are edible, tender and delicious, but the lower stems are too tough andViolet Wood Sorrel is a lowlying (4"), shy native with small, bellshaped violet flowers that become white with greenish lines near the blossom's throat Leaves and blossoms both open up to the sun, the latter exposing bright yellow anthers, and then fold with shade Three ovalheart leaflets comprise each leafThe Sour Docks or Sorrels, cultivated for potherbs, Rumex acetosa (Common Sorrel) and R scutatus (French Sorrel), as well as the smaller R acetosella (Sheep's Sorrel) and Oxyria reniformis (Mountain Sorrel), owe the grateful acidity of their herbage to the presence of a special salt, binoxalate of potash, which is also present in Rhubarb This, however, is absent in the common Wood sorrel seed pods