Common Sorrel - Rumex acetosa

Description

Short to tall acid tasting plant. Leaves arrow shaped, the basal lobes pointing backwards, the upper leaves clasping the stem. Leaves often turning very red at fruiting time. Flowers in few branched or unbranched spikes, male and female flowers on separate plants tinted reddish.

Similar Species

Sheep Sorrel has similar flowers, but is smaller, and the upper leaves do not clasp the stem, unlike Common Sorrel

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Mainly found in meadows.

When to see it

May and June.

Life History

Perennial.

UK Status

Very common throughout Britain

VC55 Status

Very common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 592 of the 617 tetrads.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Common Sorrel
Species group:
Wildflowers
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Caryophyllales
Family:
Polygonaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
265
First record:
21/09/1998 (Anthony Fletcher)
Last record:
24/08/2023 (O'Brien, Helen)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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