Sheep Sorrel

Polygonaceae

LIFE FORM: Perennial

NATIVITY: Europe

VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS:

A low-growing plant with arrowhead-shaped leaves about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide; can form large clumps over time.

FLOWERS:

Male and female flowers are produced on separate plants (dioecious); male flowers are yellow-green; female flowers are reddish-brown; blooms produced on branched stalks up to 18 inches tall from May through September.

FRUIT/DISPERSAL AGENTS:

Spreads by seed and rhizomes.

ECOLOGICAL PREFERENCE:

Grows best in full sun and acid soil; neglected residential and commercial landscapes; minimally maintained public parks and open space; vacant lots and rubble dump sites; abandoned grasslands (meadows); rock outcrops and stone walls.

ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTION:

Disturbance-adapted colonizer.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:

Plants produce high concentrations of oxalic acid, which give them a sour taste and can sicken livestock when eaten in abundance; used for food and medicine in ancient Europe.