Rumex acetosella

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Rumex acetosella
Ahosuolaheina (Rumex acetosella).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Rumex
Species:
R. acetosella
Binomial name
Rumex acetosella
L.
Synonyms [1]

Acetosella vulgaris(W.D.J. Koch) Fourr.

Rumex acetosella, commonly known as red sorrel, sheep's sorrel, field sorrel and sour weed, is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Native to Eurasia and the British Isles, [2] the plant and its subspecies are common perennial weeds. It has green arrowhead-shaped leaves and red-tinted deeply ridged stems, and it sprouts from an aggressive and spreading rhizome. The flowers emerge from a tall, upright stem. Female flowers are maroon in color.

Contents

Description

Rumex acetosella is a perennial herb which spreads via rhizomes. It has a slender and reddish, upright stem that is branched at the top, reaching a height of 50 centimetres (20 inches). [3] The arrow-shaped leaves are small, about 2.4–5 cm (1–2 in) long and .5–2 cm (1434 in) wide, with pointed lobes at the base. [3] It blooms during March to November, when yellowish-green (male) or reddish (female) flowers develop on separate plants at the apex of the stem, which develop into the red fruits (achenes).

It should not be confused with the similarly named R. acerosella, which also contains oxalic acid and should not be eaten in excess. [4]

Distribution and habitat

Native to Eurasia and the British Isles, [2] R. acetosella has been introduced to most of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere. It is commonly found on acidic, sandy soils in heaths and grassland. [2] It is often one of the first species to take hold in disturbed areas, such as abandoned mining sites, especially if the soil is acidic.

The plant is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. It has been found that in early successional habitats, there are relatively more female plants, while in later successional stages, male plants are more common. [5]

The plant has been found as an invasive species in Sphagnum peatlands disturbed by peat extraction in southern Patagonia. [6]

Ecology

Livestock will graze on the plant, but it is not very nutritious and is toxic in large amounts because of oxalates. Italian agronomist Nicola Onorati (1764–1822) first discovered that the plant damages the teeth of animals that crop this plant because of the oxalic acid it contains. [7] [8]

Ground-feeding songbirds eat the seeds, and larger animals like rabbits and deer browse the greens. [9]

The American copper or small copper butterfly depends on it for food, although its larvae can consume some related plants.

The plant is widely considered to be a hard-to-control noxious weed due to its spreading rhizome. Blueberry farmers are familiar with the weed because it thrives in the same conditions under which blueberries are cultivated.

Toxicity

The plant contains oxalic acid and derivatives, known as oxalates. [7] [8]

Uses

The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, with the water changed to reduce its strong taste. [10] [4] The oxalic acid they contain lend them a somewhat sour taste. [11] There are several uses of sheep sorrel in the preparation of food including a garnish, a tart flavoring agent, a salad green, [10] and a curdling agent for milk in cheese-making.[ citation needed ] The leaves have a lemony, tangy or rhubarb-like tart flavor. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sorrel</span> Flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae

Sorrel, also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxalic acid</span> Simplest dicarboxylic acid

Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and chemical formula HO−C(=O)−C(=O)−OH, also written as (COOH)2 or (CO2H)2 or H2C2O4. It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name comes from the fact that early investigators isolated oxalic acid from flowering plants of the genus Oxalis, commonly known as wood-sorrels. It occurs naturally in many foods. Excessive ingestion of oxalic acid or prolonged skin contact can be dangerous.

<i>Rumex</i> Genus of plants

The docks and sorrels, genus Rumex, are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Members of this genus are very common perennial herbs with a native almost worldwide distribution, and introduced species growing in the few places where the genus is not native.

<i>Rumex crispus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rumex crispus, the curly dock, curled dock or yellow dock, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to Europe and Western Asia.

<i>Oxalis oregana</i> Shade-loving trifoliate flowering plant

Oxalis oregana, known as redwood sorrel or Oregon oxalis, is a species of the wood sorrel family, Oxalidaceae, in the genus Oxalis native to moist Douglas-fir and coast redwood forests of western North America from southwestern British Columbia to Washington, Oregon, and California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxalate</span> Any derivative of oxalic acid; chemical compound containing oxalate moiety

Oxalate is an anion with the chemical formula C2O2−4. This dianion is colorless. It occurs naturally, including in some foods. It forms a variety of salts, for example sodium oxalate, and several esters such as dimethyl oxalate. It is a conjugate base of oxalic acid. At neutral pH in aqueous solution, oxalic acid converts completely to oxalate.

<i>Oxalis</i> Genus of flowering plants

Oxalis is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species diversity is particularly rich in tropical Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa.

<i>Rubus parviflorus</i> Berry and plant

Rubus parviflorus, commonly called thimbleberry, is a species of Rubus native to northern temperate regions of North America. The plant has large hairy leaves and no thorns. It bears edible red fruit similar in appearance to a raspberry, but shorter, almost hemispherical. It has not been commercially developed for the retail berry market, but is cultivated for landscapes.

<i>Oxyria digyna</i> Species of flowering plant

Oxyria digyna is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). It is native to arctic regions and mountainous parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

<i>Rumex obtusifolius</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae

Rumex obtusifolius, commonly known as bitter dock, broad-leaved dock, bluntleaf dock, dock leaf, dockens or butter dock, is a perennial plant in the family Polygonaceae. It is native to Europe, but is found on all temperate continents. It is a highly invasive species in some zones, resulting from its abundant seed dispersal, adaptability to reproduce, aggressive roots, ability to tolerate extreme climates, and hardiness.

<i>Oxalis pes-caprae</i> Species of flowering plant in the wood sorrel family

Oxalis pes-caprae is a species of tristylous yellow-flowering plant in the wood sorrel family Oxalidaceae. Oxalis cernua is a less common synonym for this species. Some of the most common names for the plant reference its sour taste owing to oxalic acid present in its tissues. Indigenous to South Africa, the plant has become a pest plant in different parts of the world that is difficult to eradicate because of how it propagates through underground bulbs.

<i>Oxalis violacea</i> Species of flowering plant

Oxalis violacea, the violet wood-sorrel, is a perennial plant and herb in the family Oxalidaceae. It is native to the eastern and central United States.

<i>Asarum caudatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Asarum caudatum is a plant native to rich moist forests of western North America. It has heart-shaped leaves and a three-lobed purplish flower.

<i>Claytonia lanceolata</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia lanceolata is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae, known by the common names lanceleaf springbeauty and western springbeauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potassium hydrogenoxalate</span> Chemical compound, salt of sorrel

Potassium hydrogenoxalate is a salt with formula KHC2O4 or K+·HO2C-CO2. It is one of the most common salts of the hydrogenoxalate anion, and can be obtained by reacting potassium hydroxide with oxalic acid in 1:1 mole ratio.

<i>Rumex venosus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rumex venosus is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by the common names veiny dock, winged dock, sand dock, and wild-begonia. While not of any particular agricultural use, its cousins rhubarb and buckwheat are. It is native to central and western North America, from southern parts of the Canadian prairies, through to Mexico.

<i>Rumex scutatus</i> Species of herb

Rumex scutatus is a plant in the buckwheat family, used as a culinary herb. Its common names include French sorrel, buckler sorrel, shield-leaf sorrel, and sometimes the culinary name "green-sauce".

<i>Rumex sanguineus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rumex sanguineus, commonly known as wood dock, bloody dock or red-veined dock, is a perennial flowering plant species in the family Polygonaceae. Rumex sanguineus is a dicot and can be observed in Europe with at least two varieties.

<i>Rumex bucephalophorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rumex bucephalophorus, also known as horned, red, or ruby dock is an annual herbaceous plant that is part of the family Polygonaceae. The scientific name Rumex bucephalophorus was first described and published by Linnaeus in 1753 in Species Plantarum. Other scientific names have also been given to Rumex bucephalophorus such as Bucephalophora aculeata and Lapathum bucephalophorum. R. bucephalophorus is most commonly found in subcoastal or coastal regions, but also are "casual aliens", few and far between, among inland populations. Rumex bucephalophorus is native to the Mediterranean Basin and grows best in areas with little human intervention.

Cream of sorrel soup, also known as potage Germiny, crème Germiny, or potage crème d'oseille, is a traditional French springtime vegetable soup, often served cold. It can be made with French sorrel, common sorrel, or with foraged wild greens with similar flavor profiles, such as sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella), wood sorrel (Oxalis corniculata, Oxalis albicans), sour grass, or young leaves of dock, etc.

References

  1. "Acetosella vulgaris". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Stace, C. A. (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. p.  450. ISBN   9780521707725.
  3. 1 2 Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 121. ISBN   978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC   244766414.
  4. 1 2 The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants. United States Department of the Army. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. 2009. pp. 93, 115. ISBN   978-1-60239-692-0. OCLC   277203364.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. Houssard, C.; Escarre, J.; Vartanian, N. (1992). "Water stress effects on successional populations of the dioecious herb, Rumex acetosella L". New Phytologist. 120 (4): 551–559. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1992.tb01805.x .
  6. Domínguez, Erwin; Bahamonde, Nelson; Muñoz-Escobar, Christian. "Efectos de la extracción de turba sobre la composición y estructura de una turbera de Sphagnum explotada y abandonada hace 20 años, Chile" [Effects of peat extraction on the structure and composition of Sphagnum peatland exploited and abandones for 20 years, Chile]. Anales del Instituto de la Patagonia (in Spanish). 40 (2): 37–45.
  7. 1 2 Vachetta, p. 499
  8. 1 2 Delle cose rustiche, vol. 3
  9. Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 708. ISBN   0-394-50432-1.
  10. 1 2 3 Nyerges, Christopher (2017). Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods. Guilford, CT: Falcon Guides. ISBN   978-1-4930-2534-3. OCLC   965922681.
  11. Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 218. ISBN   978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC   1073035766.

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