Sheep Sorrel

Pollen Type: Weed

Cross-Reactivity: Curly Dock, Bitter Dock, Yellow Dock

HS Allergy Extract: Dock/Sorrel Mix

Family: Polygonaceae

Genus/Species: Rumex acetosella

Common Names: Sheep Sorrel, Sorrel Dock, Field Sorrel, Red Sorrel, Wood Sorrel, Sour-weed

Distribution: Throughout the United States. Rarely found in Southern California or desert areas of the Southwest.

Locations: Old fields, annual grasslands, and meadows near the slopes of mountainous regions. It grows particularly well near blueberries.

Pollinating Period: Throughout the summer, but heaviest in May & June.

Pollination Method: Wind-pollinated

Description: Sheep Sorrel is an herbaceous perennial weed. Its leaves grow in a rosette from the base with occasional flowering stalks growing upwards to 2′. They are somewhat thick and vary in size and shape. Lower leaves look similar to ax blades with an upward-facing spike and two outward-facing lobes. Sheep Sorrel stalks are slim, upright, and have reddish ridges. Its flowering stalks grow in dense clusters at the end of the branch and are typically leafless. The flowers are separate sexes; the female is red and the male a yellowish-green color. The foliage of the docks contains oxalic acid, which deters herbivores from eating them.