Common sorrel is the lemony-tasting leafy plant cooks know simply as sorrel, used for centuries in European soups and sauces. Native to Europe and Asia, it was brought to North America, where it now grows as an introduced weed of fields and roadsides and is also planted in vegetable gardens. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants.
Appearance
- Growth form
- Perennial herb, usually about 2 ft (60 cm) tall, sometimes up to about 3.5 ft (110 cm).
- Leaves
- Lower leaves are 1½–6 in (4–15 cm) long on long stalks, with two backward-pointing lobes at the base like an arrowhead. Upper leaves lack stalks and often turn reddish.
- Flowers
- Small reddish-green flowers in spikes in early summer, turning purplish as they age. They are wind-pollinated.
- Fruit
- After flowering, three inner flower parts enlarge into papery wings around a small three-sided seed about 1/10 in (2–2.5 mm) long.
Look-alikes
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Meadows
- Fields
- Roadsides
- Vegetable gardens
- Range
- Native across Europe and parts of temperate Asia. Introduced to North America, Australia, and New Zealand. In the U.S. it is an introduced plant with patchy records; for example, it grows in fields and roadsides in New England.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows in sunny, disturbed or mowed ground and tolerates poor soil.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Each plant is either male or female.
Cautions
- Cautions
- The sour taste comes from oxalic acid. Eating large amounts can cause stomach upset, so it is eaten in moderation.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Several subspecies have been described. The sorrel sold for gardens is often a cultivated form treated as Rumex rugosus.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- A famous dish is the salmon in sorrel sauce created by France's Troisgros brothers in 1962; French cooks have long paired sorrel with fish.
- In the Caribbean, 'sorrel' means a drink made from a hibiscus (roselle), which is unrelated to this plant.
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.