Rumex paucifolius
Alpine sheep sorrel
Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Alpine sheep sorrel is a California native perennial found in the high Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Modoc Plateau, and White and Inyo Mountains in moist places at elevations of 1,500 to 4,000 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces small greenish-brown flowers in open, branched terminal clusters. Growing with erect to ascending slender stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall, it forms dense tufts with underground stolons and a vertical taproot. Its leaves are wide or lance-ovate, 3 to 7 centimeters long with entire margins, tapering at the base and ending in an obtuse to slightly acute tip. The plant produces small brown fruits approximately 1.2 to 1.8 millimeters long.
Habitat: Moist places
Bloom period: May-Aug
Elevation: 1500-4000 m
Bioregions: CaRH, SNH, MP, W&I
California counties: Sonoma, Mono, Inyo, Tulare, Fresno, El Dorado, Plumas, Humboldt, Lassen, Mariposa, Madera, Tuolumne, Modoc, Alpine, Amador, Del Norte, Nevada, Sierra, Placer
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.