Red sorrel

Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated February 2018.

Scientific name: Rumex acetosella L.

Common name(s): red sorrel, common sheep sorrel, sheep dock

Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, Go Botany

Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)

Description:

– perennial

– flowers May-September.

Stems slender 6″-18″ arising from a crown.  Alternate leaves distinctly arrow-shaped with broad lobes and bitter taste, 1″-4″ long.  Red to yellow flowers at top of the plant, small and clustered in a whorl, male and female flowers on separate plants.

-Produces large quantities of pollen

-may be confused with R. acetosa; see left sidebar on Go Botany webpage

Habitat

• Enjoys moist, low in fertility, acidic, fast draining soils
• open grasslands or meadows, and gravely or recently burned areas

Natural History

• Introduced from Europe and in the 19th Century
• Edible to humans and used as a green or to make tea
• Found toxic to livestock if eaten in high amounts
• Historic medical uses
  • treating kidney problems, skin disorders and sore throats
  • inflammation, scurvy, cancer, diarrhea
  • An antidote for poisons by indigenous people

Management

• hand pulling
• Mulch and Fertilizers
  • suppression by mulch
  • altering pH
• Herbicides/chemicals
  • pre emergence suppression
  • growth regulators
  • aromatic amino acid inhibitors
  • photosynthetic inhibitors

Sources:

DiTomaso, J.M., G.B. Kyser et al. 2013. Weed Control in Natural Areas in the Western United States. Weed Research and Information Center, University of California. 544 pp.

Peacock, Charles. “Red Sorrel: NC State Extension Publications.” Red Sorrel | NC State Extension Publications, 2017, content.ces.ncsu.edu/red-sorrel.