Rumex acetosella

Sheep sorrel, Sheep Sorrel

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Sheep sorrel is a naturalized perennial herb found in California Floristic Province and Great Basin regions in disturbed and often acidic places at elevations up to 3,000 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces small green-red flowers in open terminal whorls. Growing with slender ascending stems to 40 centimeters tall, it spreads through creeping rhizomes and develops a vertical taproot. Its leaves are primarily basal, with distinctive arrow-shaped or lance-like blades 2 to 6 centimeters long, featuring widely tapered bases and acute or obtuse tips. The small brown fruits are less than 1.5 millimeters wide, reflecting the plant's delicate structure.

Habitat: +- disturbed, often acidic places

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 3000 m

Bioregions: CA-FP, GB

California counties: Humboldt, Placer, Sierra, Fresno, Butte, Plumas, Tuolumne, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Los Angeles, Ventura, Alameda, Siskiyou, Monterey, Calaveras, El Dorado, San Mateo, Lassen, San Diego, Del Norte, Riverside, Madera, San Francisco, Sonoma, San Bernardino, Modoc, Nevada, Lake, Mendocino, Mono, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Orange, Contra Costa, Marin, Kern, Santa Clara, Trinity, Tehama, Yuba, Amador, Alpine, Sacramento, Glenn, Inyo, Mariposa, Solano, Colusa, Stanislaus, Napa, San Benito

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.