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Garden Sorrel

Garden Sorrel

Rumex acetosa

Identify the Garden Sorrel from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

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How common: Very common

Garden Sorrel is a smooth, upright perennial of meadows and edges, usually 30–100 cm tall. It is easy to recognise by its pointed leaves with an arrow-shaped base and by tall, airy flower sprays that often look greenish to red. The plant is widespread in Europe and also occurs in parts of Asia and North America.

Did you know?

  • Male and female flowers grow on separate plants.
  • The leaves are naturally sour-tasting.

About the species

Identification

Tall, straight stems, usually unbranched and smooth. Basal leaves long-stalked, 5–15 cm, narrow and pointed with two small lobes at the base that point backward (arrow-shaped). Upper leaves are almost without stalks and their bases clasp the stem. Often a thin, papery collar at leaf joints. The top of the stem carries a leafless, open spray of tiny green to reddish flowers; later it turns rusty red with many small, shiny, three‑edged dark seeds. Compared with Sheep’s Sorrel, it is taller and has broader leaves with longer basal lobes. Flowers in Finland from May to August.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

meadow

Flowering

May–Aug

About the habitat

Grows in open grassy places, field edges, roadsides and yards, and also in damp spots such as springs, stream banks and moist, rich woods. Occurs throughout the country.

Sources

Photo: AnRo0002, CC0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20140420Rumex acetosa2.jpg

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki leviäimet, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38279

Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Tunturit: rakat ja soraikot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38279

Text: Pinkka (Luomus), CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38279

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niittysuolahein%C3%A4

See also