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
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).