Rumex acetosella L., Polygonaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  yes

Other Latin names:  Acetosella vulgaris Fourr.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: common sheep sorrel, field sorrel, red sorrel, sheep sorrel, small sorrel, sorrel

French: oseille, oseille de brebis, oseille sauvage, petite oseille, sûrette, vinette sauvage

Japanese: himesuiba

Spanish: acedera, acedera menor, acederilla, cizaa, hierba de cristo, hierba roja, lengua de vaca, pactilla, romacilla, sangre de toro, vinagrerita, vinagrillo

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Slender perennial herbs from a short, somewhat woody rhizome, foliage with a strong sour taste; stems erect, 2-5 dm long.  Leaves primarily basal, lanceolate to oblong, 3-6 (-10) cm long, 1-2 cm wide, glabrous or nearly so, apex acute to obtuse, base narrowly hastate, sometimes some leaves without lobes and base cuneate, petioles 2-5 cm long.  Flowers unisexual (and the plants dioecious), in reddish, branched, racemose inflorescences; tepals ca. 1-1.2 mm long, the valves not enlarging in fruit.  Nuts purplish brown, ca. 1.2-1.5 mm long, the surface glossy, the valves readily separating from the nut"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1066).

"Herbacée pérenne, reconnaissable à ses feuilles épaisses en forme de fer de lance, ses longues inflorescences dressés à petites fleurs rougeâtres et ses infrutescences de petits fruits triangulaires munis de trois petites ailes"  (Meyer, 2008; p. 34).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in disturbed mesic forest and subalpine woodland, especially in pastures and along roadsides" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1066). In New Zealand, "especially in open situations on poor, light, stony or sandy soils from sea level to c. 1500 m, also in riverbeds, poor pastures, pavement cracks, gutters and cultivated ground" (Webb et al., 1988; p. 982).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Eurasia (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1066).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (Rapa Nui Island) Rapa Nui (Easter) Island	Rapa Nui (Easter) Island (Isla de Pasqua)	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2008) (pp. 34, 43) "Non citée par Zizka (1991), elle a été observée « en une seule station dans le vallon sous le Rano Aroi » (Batud, 2005, Lefeuvre et al., 2005; page 44)" (Meyer, 2008; p. 34).
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1066)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1066) Voucher cited: Heller 2767 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1066)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 303)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 683)
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 683)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 683)
Canada Canada	Canada (country)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 683)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 683)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 690)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 683)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 314)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 683)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 683)
North Korea North Korea	North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 982)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 683)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) Subsp. pyrenaicus (Pourr. ex Lapeyr.) Akeroyd.; "Naturalisé/±envahissant"

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast and Florida) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)

Control:  "La lutte manuelle par arrachage des plants associée à un traitement chimique par pulvérisation d’un herbicide à base de glyphosate sur les rosettes des feuilles sont réalisables mais délicats par la présence de zones humides" (Meyer, 2008; p. 34).

Additional information:
Photos from Missouri Plants
Factsheet from Weeds Australia
Factsheet from Ohio Perennial & Biennial Weed Guide

Additional online information about Rumex acetosella is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Rumex acetosella as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Rumex acetosella may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Acetosella vulgaris Fourr.

References:

Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias. 1988. Dicot weeds, vol. 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 335 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James. 1997. World weeds: natural histories and distribution. John Wiley & Sons. 1129 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2008. Rapport de mission d'expertise a Rapa Nui du 02 au 11 Juin 2008: Plan d'action strategique pour lutter contre les plantes introduites envahissantes sur Rapa Nui (Île de pâques) [Strategic action plan to control invasive alien plants on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) [unpublished report]. Délégation à la Recherche, Ministère de l'Education, l'Enseignement supérieur et la Recherche, B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, Polynésie française. 62 pp. .

U. S. Government. 2009. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2009. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.