North Carolina Wildflowers, Shrubs, & Trees

by Jeffrey S. Pippen | Back to Jeff's Plant Page | Jeff's Nature Pages

Polygonaceae
	Red Dock, Sheep Sorrel, Sour-grass (Rumex acetosella) Caswell Co., NC 17 June 2006 Common statewide in open areas, Rumex acetosella is considered by some to be introduced from Europe.
	Red Dock, Sheep Sorrel, Sour-grass (Rumex acetosella) Caswell Co., NC 17 June 2006 Rumex acetosella leaves are arrowhead-shaped and have a pleasantly sour taste. Rumex acetosella is one of the host plants for American Copper butterfly caterpillars.

Annotated habitat and distribution information listed above is from Radford, Ahles, & Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. UNC Press; and from personal observations and discussions with Will Cook, Harry LeGrand, and Bob Wilbur. Common names from personal experience and supplemented by the following resources USDA plants website, Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, and NatureServe.