Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (6/30/18):
Rumex acetosella
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Sheep Sorrel at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rumex acetosella
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 063-02-001:
Rumex acetosella
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
INCLUDING
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Rumex acetosella var. acetosella
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Acetosella acetosella
COMMON NAME:
Sheep Sorrel, Sourgrass, Red Sorrel, Field Sorrel
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm0304p_32a
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
In several respects a smaller version of R. hastatulus, without sepal wings, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm0304r_25
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
R. acetosella is rarely found in sandy soils, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
)
JK Marlow jkm130430_902
April Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm160827_707
August Henderson County NC
Bearwallow Mountain
Well-developed lvs w sagittate base (lobes point down, ~ parallel to petiole), per Weakley's Flora.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (6/30/18):
Rumex acetosella
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rumex acetosella
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 063-02-001:
Rumex acetosella
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
INCLUDING
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Rumex acetosella var. acetosella
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Acetosella acetosella
1283
Forb
Perennial
Dioecious
Non-native: Eurasia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Common (uncommon in GA Piedmont & Coastal Plain)
Look for it in pastures, fields, roadsides, rock outcrops, grassy balds, gardens, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal rosette & alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Creamy-yellow/ Pinkish-red
Unisexual
6 sepals of two different sizes
Petals absent
5 stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Brown
Nutlet
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses p164
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p402
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p395
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p003
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p063
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p062
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p084
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region p321
- Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses p165