Copy permalink to share

*Acetosa acetosella (Linnaeus) P. Miller. Common name: Red Dock, Sheep Sorrel, Sourgrass, Field Sorrel. Phenology: Mar-Sep; May-Nov. Habitat: Pastures, fields, roadsides, rock outcrops, grassy balds, gardens. Distribution: Native of Eurasia. Variation in Acetosa acetosella has been studied in considerable detail in Eurasia, and a number of infrataxa named; the application of these to North American material is unclear at this time.

Origin/Endemic status: Eurasia

Taxonomy Comments: Variation in this species remains poorly understood. Rumex acetosella ssp. pyrenaicus (Pourret ex Lapeyrouse) Akeroyd, a hexaploid subspecies from western Europe, is apparently the predominant naturalized subspecies in North America. See Mosyakin in FNA (2005) and the references cited therein for further information.

Synonymy : = Acetosella acetosella (L.) Small — S; = Rumex acetosella L. — Ar, C, Can, Fl4, FNA5, G, GrPl, GW2, Il, K4, Mi, Mo3, NcTx, Pa, RAB, S13, Tat, Tn, Tx, Va, W, WH3, WV; = Rumex acetosella L. ssp. pyrenaicus (Pourr. ex Lapeyr.) Akeroyd — Stace (2021); < Acetosella vulgaris (Koch) Fourr.; > Acetosella vulgaris (Koch) Fourr. ssp. pyrenaica (Pourr. ex Lapeyr.) Á.Löve — Löve (1983); > Acetosella vulgaris (Koch) Fourr. ssp. vulgaris — Löve (1983); > Rumex acetosella L. ssp. pyrenaicus (Pourr. ex Lapeyr.) Akeroyd — NE, NY; > Rumex acetosella L. var. acetosella — F; > Rumex acetosella L. var. pyrenaeus (Pourr. ex Lapeyr.) Timbal-Lagrave — F, orthographic error. Basionym: Rumex acetosella L. 1753

Links to other floras: = Rumex acetosella - FNA5

Show in key(s)

Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)

Wetland Indicator Status:

  • Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACU (name change)
  • Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: UPL (name change)
  • Great Plains: FAC (name change)
  • Midwest: FACU (name change)
  • Northcentral & Northeast: FACU (name change)

Your browser does not support SVGs

Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.

image of plant© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Alan Weakley source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Erik Danielson source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Joey Shaw source | Original Image ⭷

Feedback

See something missing or incorrect about Acetosa acetosella? Let us know here:

  1. Please include your name and if possible, email in case when need to clarify what you wrote.
  2. If you opt out of including email, please be as specific as possible (e.g., which photo is incorrect?)
  3. Please do not submit questions asking to identify plants or about horticultural topics (e.g., how do I control an invasive plant in my garden?). Instead, those questions can be submitted here for the Carolinas region only.
  4. Please do not send us feedback about unkeyed species as this work is ongoing.
  5. Please allow time for flora edits to show in our next data release. We greatly appreciate your feedback but may require extra time to research complicated taxonomic issues.

Horticultural Information

No horticultural data found for this taxon.