Common Sheep Sorrel
Rumex acetocella
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand & more
- Flowering
- January-March
How to identify Common Sheep Sorrel
Identify Common Sheep Sorrel by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Sour-tasting arrow-shaped leaves (sheep sorrel).
- Confirm leaf shape: Sagittate (arrowhead-shaped).
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: January-March.
- In India, compare location records such as Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, West Bengal.
- Confirm it sits within the Polygonaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Common Sheep Sorrel.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Rumex acetocella
- Genus
- Rumex
- Family
- Polygonaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
- Flowering & fruiting
- January-March
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Sagittate (arrowhead-shaped)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Common Sheep Sorrel itself; the rest are typical of the Polygonaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Spike
- Fruit
- Achene
Typical of the Polygonaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
About Common Sheep Sorrel
Common Sheep Sorrel (Rumex acetocella) belongs to the Polygonaceae family, where it grows as a herb. In India it has been recorded in Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and 1 other states. Flowering and fruiting run from January to March.
Polygonaceae
Buckwheat/Knotweed family
Common Sheep Sorrel belongs to the Polygonaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Polygonaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Common Sheep Sorrel or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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