Sorrel

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Sorrel
(MHNT) Rumex acetosa - Habit.jpg
Plant habit, Muséum de Toulouse
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Rumex
Species:
R. acetosa
Binomial name
Rumex acetosa
L.
Synonyms [1]
  • Acetosa agrestisRaf.
  • Acetosa amplexicaulisRaf.
  • Acetosa angustataRaf.
  • Acetosa bidentulaRaf.
  • Acetosa fontanopaludosa(Kalela) Holub
  • Acetosa hastifoliaSchur
  • Acetosa hastulataRaf.
  • Acetosa magnaGilib.
  • Acetosa officinalisGueldenst. ex Ledeb.
  • Acetosa olitoriaRaf.
  • Acetosa pratensisGarsault nom. inval.
  • Acetosa pratensisMill.
  • Acetosa subalpinaSchur
  • Rumex biformisLange
  • Rumex fontanopaludosusKalela

Sorrel (Rumex acetosa), 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 ('dock' being a common name for the genus Rumex ). [2]

Contents

Sorrel is native to Eurasia and a common plant in grassland habitats. It is often cultivated as a leaf vegetable or herb.

Description

Sorrel is a slender herbaceous perennial plant about 60 centimetres (24 inches) high, with roots that run deep into the ground, as well as juicy stems and arrow-shaped (sagittate) leaves which grow from a rosette. [3] [4] The lower leaves are 7 to 15 cm (3 to 6 in) in length with long petioles and a membranous ocrea formed of fused, sheathing stipules. The upper leaves are sessile, (growing directly from the stem without a petiole) and frequently become crimson. It has whorled spikes of reddish-green flowers, which bloom in early summer, becoming purplish. [5] [2] The species is dioecious, with stamens and pistils on different plants. [2]

Subspecies

Several subspecies have been named. [2] Not all are cultivated.

Distribution and habitat

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 New Zealand, Australia, and North America. [6] It can grow in poor soil. [3]

Pests

The leaves are eaten by the larvae of several species of Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) including the blood-vein moth, aphids and by non-specialized snails and slugs. [4]

Uses

Sorrel soup with egg and croutons, part of Polish cuisine Sorrel soup with egg and croutons (Zupa szczawiowa z jajkiem i grzankami).jpg
Sorrel soup with egg and croutons, part of Polish cuisine

Common sorrel has been cultivated for centuries. The leaves are edible when young but toughen with age; they may be puréed in soups and sauces or added to salad. [3] The plant has a distinct sharp, sour taste.

In India, the leaves are used in soups or curries made with yellow lentils and peanuts. In Afghanistan, the leaves are coated in a wet batter and deep fried, then served as an appetizer or if in season during Ramadan, for breaking the fast. In Armenia, the leaves are collected in spring, woven into braids, and dried for use during winter. The most common preparation is aveluk soup, where the leaves are rehydrated and rinsed to reduce bitterness, then stewed with onions, potatoes, walnuts, garlic and bulgur wheat or lentils, and sometimes sour plums.

Throughout eastern Europe, wild or garden sorrel is used to make sour soups, stewed with vegetables or herbs, meat or eggs. In rural Greece, it is used with spinach, leeks, and chard in spanakopita.

"Escalope de saumon à l'oseille" (salmon escalope in sorrel sauce), invented in 1962 by the Troisgros brothers, is an emblematic dish of the French nouvelle cuisine. [7] [8] French cuisine traditionally cooks fish with sorrel because its acidity dissolves thin fish bones. [9]

In the Caribbean, "sorrel" is a type of sweet hibiscus tea commonly made from the roselle flower, [10] but this plant from Western Africa is actually a form of hibiscus unrelated to the Eurasian sorrel herb. [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hibiscus</i> Genus of plants

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are renowned for their large, showy flowers and those species are commonly known simply as "hibiscus", or less widely known as rose mallow. Other names include hardy hibiscus, rose of sharon, and tropical hibiscus.

<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>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>Chenopodium album</i> Species of flowering plant in the goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae

Chenopodium album is a fast-growing annual plant in the genus Chenopodium. Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed. Common names include lamb's quarters, melde, goosefoot, wild spinach and fat-hen, though the latter two are also applied to other species of the genus Chenopodium, for which reason it is often distinguished as white goosefoot. Chenopodium album is extensively cultivated and consumed in Northern India, and Nepal as a food crop known as bathua.

<i>Portulaca oleracea</i> Annual succulent in the family Portulacaceae

Portulaca oleracea is an annual succulent in the family Portulacaceae.

<i>Barbarea verna</i> Species of plant in the family Brassicaceae

Barbarea verna is a biennial herb in the family Brassicaceae. Common names include land cress, American cress, bank cress, black wood cress, Belle Isle cress, Bermuda cress, poor man's cabbage, early yellowrocket, early wintercress, scurvy cress, creasy greens, and upland cress. It is native to southern Europe and western Asia, and naturalized elsewhere It has been cultivated as a leaf vegetable in England since the 17th century. As it requires less water than watercress, it is easier to cultivate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leaf vegetable</span> Plant leaves eaten as a vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad greens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taro</span> Species of plant

Taro or Mukhi Kochu is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in African, Oceanic, East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cultures. Taro is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roselle (plant)</span> Species of flowering plant

Roselle is a species of flowering plant in the genus Hibiscus that is native to Africa, most likely West Africa. In the 16th and early 17th centuries it was spread to Asia and the West Indies, where it has since become naturalized in many places. The stems are used for the production of bast fibre and the dried cranberry-tasting calyces are commonly steeped to make a popular infusion known by many names, including carcade.

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

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, 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.

<i>Hibiscus acetosella</i> Species of flowering plant

Hibiscus acetosella, the cranberry hibiscus or African rosemallow, is a flowering plant of the family Malvaceae. The epithet acetosella is of Latin origin and is a diminutive of the Latin name for sorrel which comes from the sour taste experienced when eating the young leaves of both plants. Hibiscus acetosella is also known colloquially as false roselle, maroon mallow, red leaved hibiscus, and red shield hibiscus. It is one of the approximately 200–300 species that are seen in sub-tropic and tropic regions. This ornamental is usually found in abandoned fields or open areas, marshes, and forest clearings. Cranberry hibiscus is a member of a perennial group known as hardy hibiscus. In contrast to the tropical hibiscus, hardy hibiscus can tolerate colder conditions, are more vigorous, longer lasting, and have larger flowers. In colder climates, Hibiscus acetosella is easily an annual, but is often regarded as a perennial to zone 8–11. During one season, the plant can grow 90–170 cm (3.0–5.6 ft) tall and 75 cm (30 in) wide as a shrub-subshrub.

Perennial vegetables are vegetables that can live for more than two years.

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

Rumex sagittatus, synonym Acetosa sagittata, commonly known as turkey rhubarb or rambling dock or potato vine, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to southern Africa, which has become a weed in Australia and New Zealand.

Sorrel, Rumex acetosa, is a perennial herb cultivated as a leaf vegetable.

<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 hastatulus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rumex hastatulus, commonly known as the heartwing sorrel, is an annual flowering plant species in the family Polygonaceae otherwise known as the buckwheat family. It is found spread out through the eastern and southern United States.

Rumex lapponicus, known commonly as Lapland mountain sorrel is a perennial flowering herb species in the family Polygonaceae. It is commonly found in meadows and rock outcrops, as well as montane, arenicolous, and alluvial habitats.

References

  1. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species", Theplantlist.org, retrieved 10 May 2016
  2. 1 2 3 4 Stace, C. A. (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. p. 446. ISBN   9780521707725.
  3. 1 2 3 Lyle, Katie Letcher (2010) [2004]. The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them (2nd ed.). Guilford, CN: FalconGuides. pp. 29–30. ISBN   978-1-59921-887-8. OCLC   560560606.
  4. 1 2 Korpelainen, Helena; Pietiläinen, Maria (December 2020). "Sorrel (Rumex acetosa L.): Not Only a Weed but a Promising Vegetable and Medicinal Plant". The Botanical Review. 86 (3–4): 241. doi:10.1007/s12229-020-09225-z. hdl: 10138/326558 . ISSN   0006-8101. S2CID   221110563.
  5. Blamey, M.; Fitter, R.; Fitter, A (2003). Wild flowers of Britain and Ireland: The Complete Guide to the British and Irish Flora. London: A & C Black. p. 64. ISBN   978-1408179505.
  6. "Global spread map". Linnaeus.nrm.se. Archived from the original (JPG) on August 16, 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  7. Miller, Bryan; Franey, Pierre (1995-07-12). "GREAT COOKS; Finesse Times Two". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  8. Boulud, Daniel; Greenspan, Dorie (1999). Daniel Boulud's Cafe Boulud Cookbook. Scribner. ISBN   978-0684863436.
  9. Le Règne végétal. Librairie des sciences naturelles. 1864. p. 480.
  10. Sorrel Drink, A Caribbean Favorite During The Christmas Season
  11. A hibiscus drink, by any of its names, is sweet