A frequent, but not always welcome guest in the garden area is carob sorrel - one of the representatives of the same genus of the sour family. Distinguished by excellent decorativeness and endurance, a small plant also has incredible vitality, and therefore, once it appears in your garden, it will not leave from there. Meanwhile, carob acid is useful, beautiful and able to decorate any personal plot. The unique herb, its features, use in folk medicine and garden interiors, as well as ways to limit its spread will be discussed in this publication.
Description
Carob sorrel is one of five species of an extensive family growing on Russian territory, and is an elegant low plant with delicate three-section leaves of a juicy cherry hue, with small bright yellow five-petal flowers.
Oxalis flowers close at dusk and on cloudy days, and the leaves fold into an umbrella, reacting to mechanical irritation, bright sun, and the approach of rain or night. The maturing seeds are enclosed in miniature pods that open as they dry and scatter them at a sufficient distance from the mother plant. It is this feature that makes it possible for the oxalis to constantly reproduce throughout the season. In addition, the seeds remain in the soil in the most severe winters; they are not afraid of frost, drought, or short-term waterlogging. But not only self-seeding is a way of plant propagation. It also actively uses a creeping well-developed rhizome.
Carob oxalis: useful properties
All types of sorrel are edible, with a pleasant sour taste reminiscent of sorrel. Carob sour is no exception. The indigenous peoples of the North call it that - northern sorrel. Its delicate thick burgundy leaves contain not only ascorbic, succinic, pyruvic and oxalic acids, but also such valuable substances as carotene and rutin. Young leaves of the plant are eaten: they enrich any salad, introducing an unusual sourness into the overall range of the dish. In addition, the aerial parts of the plant are brewed as a tea or used as an ingredient in herbal preparations.
The balance of valuable acids present in the plant stimulates the digestive process, strengthens the immune system and normalizes metabolism.
Healing qualitiesplants
The healing effect when using the leaves of the plant lies in its choleretic, diuretic and general anti-inflammatory action. Folk healers recommend the use of fresh leaves of the plant during the period of spring beriberi, when the human body needs vitamin support. In the northern regions of the country, the plant has long been used as an antiscorbutic and anthelmintic.
In addition, it has been noted that carob acid significantly alleviates painful conditions in case of heavy metal poisoning, atherosclerosis and diseases of the cardiovascular system. Oxygen helps with disorders in the digestive tract, increasing the secretion of gastric juice. The plant is also used in the treatment of skin diseases, ulcers and wounds of varying severity.
Contraindications
Like any medicinal herb, carob sorrel should be used within reason. Excess consumption can cause kidney failure. People with endocrine disorders and those practicing hormone replacement therapy should carefully eat sour leaves.
Carob oxalis in the garden
This kind of oxalis is very common in domestic gardens. Along with usefulness, the plant is also distinguished by its excellent decorative effect, which, coupled with the vitality inherent in most members of the genus, makes it possible to arrange unique picturesque landscapes of alpine hills and rockeries. Use sour in the gardenindoors as a groundcover or border plant. Purple-cherry islands, which form quickly and retain their decorative effect for a long time, give the artificial structure natural beauty and naturalness. When in bloom, small yellow star-shaped flowers accentuate the unusual shade of the foliage and soon turn into small pods directed upwards.
If desired, miniature palm trees can be formed from the oxalis bushes by cutting the leaves from the main shoot and leaving the crown of a known shape. She tolerates such pruning calmly and continues to develop as before. Another way to decorate the garden space, which this small grass can do, is growing in hanging planters. This spectacular design technique is now adopted by many gardeners.
The unpretentiousness and high shade tolerance of the plant allow it to be planted in the darkest, unlit corners of the garden, decorating disadvantageous places.
How to limit the overly active spread of oxalis
Despite the high decorativeness, summer residents do not always welcome the appearance of carob acid in the garden, being afraid to plant it because of its ability to multiply quickly by self-sowing and considering it a weed. It is necessary to take into account this feature if you want to decorate your garden with a plant such as carob oxalis. How to deal with its rapid reproduction? Gardeners recommend periodically weeding plantings or preventing the formation of pods, cut them off in time as soon as they begin to form. It won't reducethe beauty of the plant, but at times will reduce the possibility of its spontaneous spread.
In addition to such radical methods, gardeners use others. For example, the use of the Roundal herbicide is practiced if carob oxalis has grown uncontrollably. How to get rid of the plant with the help of the drug, the instructions for the remedy will tell, however, resorting to such measures is very risky.
