Common Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)

Edibility:Edible Good

Eating notes: Sorrel has quite an acidic taste due to high-levels of oxalic acid. The flavour has been compared to lemons or green apples. They can be wilted down and eaten as a side-dish or they make an excellent soup. Sorrel should be avoided by those prone to kidney stones due to the high levels of oxalates

Sorrel is a very common plant found in meadows. It is best picked in the spring and autumn when it is not flowering.

Height: 40-90cm

Leaves: Broad shiny, and arrow-shaped leaves on long stems with distinct backward pointing lobes

Flowers: Single flower spike with small side-branches covered in small red-green flowers

Stems: In summer the plant produces its flower spike. The rest of the year it is seen as a rosette of leaves in the grass

Look-a-likes: Sorrel is similar in growth and environment to some docks, but the sharply backward pointing leaf lobes should help distinguish Sorrel from Docks.
A more dangerous look-a-like is Lords-and-Ladies. In the spring before either plant has flowered they are similar and have been mistaken in past. Lords and Ladies grows in shady and wooded areas rather than open pastures, also the leaves are significantly larger than those of Sorrel.