Wildflowers Found in Oregon

Sheep Sorrel (Sour Dock, Red Sorrel)

Rumex acetosella Common, all summer, perennial, less than 18 in. Ereact6. Stems slender, usually in small colonies. Leaves mostly basal, arrow shaped, with lobe on each side. Plants with male or female flowers or rarely both on top sections of branches. Flowers red or yellow, male with long stamens that hang. Grows in disturbed soils, fields along beaches, at low to high elevations. Both Rumex and Sorrel mean "sour." The leaves are full of vitamin C but also contain oxalic acid, which causes medical problems if too much is eaten. Flavor is somewhat like rhubarb, which also contains oxalic acid. Nonnative.