Rumex acetosella
Common name
sheep’s sorrel
Family
Polygonaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
RUMACE
Conservation status
Not applicable
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland).
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Similar taxa
Roots and rootstocks extensive but rather shallow. Stems 15 to 45 cm high, slender, upright, branched at top. Several stems may arise from 1 crown. Leaves are arrow-shaped, 2.5 to 7.5 cm long, thick, smooth, acid to the taste. Early growth consists of a rosette of basal leaves. Flowers borne on raceme near top of plant. Male and female flowers borne on different plants. (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Flower colours
Red/Pink, White
Year naturalised
1867
Origin
Europe
Etymology
rumex: Sorrel
acetosella: From the Latin acetum ‘vinegar’ and the suffix -osum indicating an abundance of that noun, refers to the oxalic acid in Rumex acetosella
Seed
Seeds, 3-sided, reddish-brown, shiny. Hull reddish-brown, rough, often adhering to the seed. (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).