Sorrel

Sorrel
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Polygonaceae
Genus:	Rumex
Species:	R. acetosa
Binomial name
Rumex acetosa L.
Synonyms
Acetosa agrestis Raf. Acetosa amplexicaulis Raf. Acetosa angustata Raf. Acetosa bidentula Raf. Acetosa fontanopaludosa (Kalela) Holub Acetosa hastifolia Schur Acetosa hastulata Raf. Acetosa magna Gilib. Acetosa officinalis Gueldenst. ex Ledeb. Acetosa olitoria Raf. Acetosa pratensis Garsault nom. inval. Acetosa pratensis Mill. Acetosa subalpina Schur Rumex biformis Lange Rumex fontanopaludosus Kalela

Common sorrel or garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa), often simply called sorrel, is a perennial herb in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock. It is a common plant in grassland habitats and is cultivated as a garden herb or leaf vegetable (pot herb).

Sorrel is a slender herbaceous perennial plant about 60 centimetres (24 in) high, with roots that run deep into the ground, as well as juicy stems and edible, arrow-shaped (sagittate) leaves. The leaves, when consumed raw, have a sour taste. The lower leaves are 7 to 15 centimetres (2.8 to 5.9 in) in length with long petioles and a membranous ocrea formed of fused, sheathing stipules. The upper ones are sessile, and frequently become crimson. It has whorled spikes of reddish-green flowers, which bloom in early summer, becoming purplish. The species is dioecious, with stamens and pistils on different plants.

The leaves are eaten by the larvae of several species of Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) including the blood-vein moth.

Rumex acetosa occurs in grassland habitats throughout Europe from the northern Mediterranean coast to the north of Scandinavia and in parts of Central Asia. It occurs as an introduced species in parts of North America.

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Wikipedia