Sorrel

Sorrel (Rumex acetosa), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock (‘dock’ is a common name for the genus Rumex).[2]

Sorrel is a common plant in grassland habitats and is often cultivated as a leaf vegetable or herb.

Sorrel is a slender herbaceous perennial plant about 60 centimetres (24 inches) high, with roots that run deep into the ground, as well as juicy stems and arrow-shaped (sagittate) leaves.[3] The lower leaves are 7 to 15 centimetres (3 to 6 inches) in length with long petioles and a membranous ocrea formed of fused, sheathing stipules. The upper ones are sessile, and frequently become crimson. It has whorled spikes of reddish-green flowers, which bloom in early summer, becoming purplish.[4][2] The species is dioecious, with stamens and pistils on different plants.[2]

The leaves are eaten by the larvae of several species of Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) including the blood-vein moth, as well as by non-specialized snails and slugs.[citation needed]