Oxalic Acid
in chemistry, + 2H2O, { CO.HO CO.HO a dibasic acid existing ready formed in plants, and produced by the simple oxidation of glycollic alcohol, or by acting on starch, sugar, or cellulose, with nitric acid, or fusion with caustic alkali. It is formed commercially by fusing sawdust with a mixture of soda and potash to 204°, decomposing the oxalate with lime, and the lime salt with sulphuric acid, and afterward recrystallizing. The solution has a strong acid reaction, and is highly poisonous. The antidote is chalk or magnesia.
OXALIDACEÆ, the oxalid or woodsorrel family, an order of plants, alliance Geraniales. They are herbs, under- OXENHAM shrubs, or trees, generally distributed throughout both the hot and the temperate regions of the globe; the shrubby species, however, are almost confined to the tropics. They are chiefly remarkable for their acid juice, containing binoxalate of potash. The order contains six genera and 325 species.