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Rumex acetosella

Sheep's sorrel

Blütenstand (CC0 1.0) AnRo0002

Short Description

The sheep's sorrel can grow up to 40 cm high.

Many long-stalked leaves grow at the base of the stem. They are up to 4 cm long and mostly narrowly arrow-shaped. They have differently pronounced leaf tips.

The stem is erect and usually already branched below the middle.

The individual flowers are reddish-brown and loosely distributed over the entire inflorescence.

The small, hard-shelled nuts are triangular. They are green at first and later turn reddish brown.

Features

Sheep's sorrel

Rumex acetosella

  • narrow, arrow-shaped leaves (sagittate)

Similar species

Common sorrel

Rumex acetosa
The whole plant is larger (30-100 cm). The leaves are broader. The acute downward pointig lobes of the leaf (sagittate) are usually not that strongly developed. The outer petals are folded back against the fruiting stalk.

Compact dock

Rumex thyrsiflorus
The whole plant is quite narrow and highly branched only in the upper part.
Blätter (CC BY-SA 3.0) Dendrofil

In the city

In the city, sheep’s sorrel is often found along roadsides and in woodland. It prefers lime-poor and light-coloured sites.

Fun Facts

  • It flowers from May to July.

  • It is an important food plant for the caterpillars of the small copper, a butterfly-species.

  • The pollen of dock species is highly allergenic.

  • It is a perennial plant. This means that a plant grows older than two years, but flowers only once and dies after the seeds have ripened.

  • Endangerment level Germany: not endangered

  • The genus name "Rumex" means "throwing spear" in Latin and refers to the leaf shape of the plants of this genus. The species epithet "acetosella" means "sour".

Habitus (CC BY-SA 3.0) Henripekka Kallio

Sources

Blütenstand, AnRo0002, CC0 1.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20160729Rumex_acetosella.jpg

Blätter, Dendrofil, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rumex_acetosella_Podkomorsk%C3%A9_lesy.jpg

Habitus, Henripekka Kallio, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ahosuolahein%C3%A4_(Rumex_acetosella).jpg

Eggenberg, S. & Möhl, A. (2007) Flora Vegetativa: Ein Bestimmungsbuch für Pflanzen der Schweiz im blütenlosen Zustand, Bern, Stuttgart, Wien: Haupt Verlag.

Spohn, M., Golte-Bechtle, M. & Spohn, R. (2015) Was blüht denn da? Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.

Jäger, E. J. (2011) Rothmaler - Exkursionsflora von Deutschland. Gefäßpflanzen: Grundband, Heidelberg: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag.

Kammer, P. M. (2016) Pflanzen einfach bestimmen. Schritt für Schritt einheimische Arten kennenlernen, Bern: Haupt Verlag.

Schauer, T., Caspari, C. & Caspari, S. (2015) Der illustrierte BLV-Pflanzenführer für unterwegs. 1150 Blumen, Gräser, Bäume und Sträucher, München: BLV.

Page „Kleiner Sauerampfer“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 06.10.2015, 10:45 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kleiner_Sauerampfer&oldid=146736274 (Accessed: 31.07.2017).

Bundesamt für Naturschutz (n.d.) Artensteckbriefe, URL: http://floraweb.de/pflanzenarten/artenhome.xsql?suchnr=26619& (Accessed: 31.07.2017).