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Species
Rumex acetosella var. vulgaris W. D. J. Koch
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Habit: Herb
More info for the terms: ground residual colonizer, rhizome, secondary colonizer
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
Usually dioecious perennial, rooting widely and forming patches. Lower leaves hastate; upper petiolate, not clasping stem. Ochreae hyaline, lacerate. Inflorescence up to 15 cm, leafless.
Acetosa acetosella (Linnaeus) Miller; A. hastata Moench; Acetosella vulgaris Fourreau; Rumex acetosella var. vulgaris W. D. J. Koch
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242414256 |
In Arizona sheep sorrel is grazed by cattle and sheep, but has little
forage value [39]. Sheep sorrel contains oxalic acid which can be
poisonous [46,100].
In California and Ohio sheep sorrel is grazed by mule deer [50,70]. In
Idaho, Montana, and Wisconsin sharp-tailed grouse and ruffed grouse eat
sheep sorrel seed [40,41,76,86].
This adventive perennial plant consists of a rosette of basal leaves, from which occasional flowering stalks are produced. The rosette of basal leaves typically spans about 4-6" across, while the flowering stalks are about ¾–1½' tall and more or less erect. A full-sized basal leaf is about 3" long and 1" across (including the petiole, which is about as long as the leaf blade). It is hastate in shape (i.e., arrowhead-shaped, but with spreading basal lobes), hairless, and smooth along the margins. The leaf is usually broadest above the middle, while the small basal lobes are often rounded, rather than pointed. The slender flowering stalks are angular or ridged, terminating in a panicle with spike-like racemes of tiny flowers. The few leaves that occur on these stalks are alternate, lanceolate or linear, sessile, and greatly reduced in size. Because Sheep Sorrel is a dioecious species, the flowers of a plant are either all-male or all-female. Each flower is about 1/12" across and consists of 6 sepals and no petals. A male flower has 6 stamens, while a female flower has a pistil with a white tripartite style. Each division of the style is itself divided into long narrow lobes and has a frilly appearance. The sepals are initially green, but become red or reddish brown while the flowers are in bloom and the achenes ripen. The 3 inner sepals do not develop membranous wings as they mature, unlike other Sorrel species. The achene of a female flower is reddish to yellowish brown and 3-angled, tapering to a point at both ends. Its surface is more granular than shiny. The surrounding sepals are about the same length as the achene, but they do not fully enclosed it. The root system consists of a taproot that is shallow and slender, and long rhizomes that snake out in all directions. This plant often forms vegetative colonies.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002-2014 by Dr. John Hilty |
Source | http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/sheep_sorrel.htm |
Acetosa acetosella (Linnaeus) Miller; Acetosella vulgaris (Koch) Fourreau; Rumex acetosella var. vulgaris Koch.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242414256 |
More info on this topic.
More info for the term: competition
Sheep sorrel invades disturbed sites and may move onto undisturbed sites
when growing conditions are ideal [1,16,52,77]. It is commonly found on
clearcut, burned, and flood-disturbed riparian sites [1,13,27,94]. It
colonizes rapidly by seed and may persist for 15 to 20 years through
vegetative growth and propagation [16]. Competition from other species
on good soils may reduce its abundance [19].
In South Carolina sheep sorrel is found in the early seral stages of a
disturbed old-field broomsedge bluestem (Andropogon virginicus)
community [101].
In the Pacific Northwest sheep sorrel seed generally remains viable in
the soil long enough to provide a source of new infestations when the
soil is disturbed [19]. In Massachusetts buried sheep sorrel seed
germinated from soil samples from eastern white pine and red pine stands
1 to 80 years old [57].
Sheep sorrel is moderately shade tolerant. In the foothills of the
Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges, California, sheep sorrel was more
abundant under dead blue oak (Quercus douglasii) trees (5.7%) than in
open grassland (5.2%) or live blue oak stands ( less than 0.1%) [36].