Taxon: Rumex acetosa L.

Summary

Genus:

Rumex

Family:

Polygonaceae

Subfamily:

Polygonoideae

Tribe:

Rumiceae

Nomen number:

32518

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 1:337. 1753, nom. cons.

Comment:

conserved (nom. cons.) with a conserved type (Shenzhen ICN Art. 14.9 & App. IV)

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

03/10/2004 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

9 (4 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Rumex acetosa L. subsp. acetosa (0 active accession[s])
Rumex acetosa L. subsp. biformis (Lange) Castrov. & Valdés Berm. (0 active accession[s])
Rumex acetosa L. subsp. hibernicus (Rech. f.) Akeroyd (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Links

Seeds or fruits – Seed ID Workshop image, from Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Brummitt, R. K. 1998. Report of the Committee for Spermatophyta: 47. Taxon 47:867-868. Note: conservation proposal recommended
CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning Note: poisonous
Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 69.
Demilly, D. et al. 2001. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 7 GEVES-SNES, Beaucouzé, France.
Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Galasso, G. 2011. Review of Polygonaceae data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. Note: as an adventive
International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
Jonsell, B. & O. Nilsson. 1996. (1211) Proposal to conserve the name Rumex acetosa L. (Polygonaceae) with a conserved type. Taxon 45:131-132.
Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa Note: poisonous
Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
Kitagawa, M. 1979. Neo-lineamenta florae Manshuricae.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Lee, Y. N. 1997. Flora of Korea.
Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Munro, D. B. Canadian poisonous plants information system (on-line resource).
Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Rønning, O. I. 1996. The flora of Svalbard.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1993. Flora europaea, ed. 2.
Ugarte, E. et al. 2011. Vascular alien flora, Chile. Check List 7:365-382.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	sorrel		1	Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
English	sorrel dock		1	1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.
English	sour dock		1	Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
English (Canada)	garden sorrel	Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada official name	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 69.
French	grande oseille		2	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
French	oseille de prés		2	Demilly, D. et al. 2001. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 7 GEVES-SNES, Beaucouzé, France.
French (Canada)	grande oseille	Agriculture & Agroalimentaire Canada nom officiel	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 69.
German	Wiesensauerampfer		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Italian	acetosa		2	International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Italian	erba brusca		2	Galasso, G. 2011. Review of Polygonaceae data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm.
Italian	romice acetosa		2	Galasso, G. 2011. Review of Polygonaceae data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm.
Portuguese	azeda-brava		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	acedera común		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedish	ängssyra		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transcribed Chinese	suan mo		2	McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Transcribed Korean	suyeong		2	Lee, Y. N. 1997. Flora of Korea.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation	Dagestan		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia	Ciscaucasia		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Heilongjiang Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Jiangsu Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Jilin Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Liaoning Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Nei Mongol Zizhiqu		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Qinghai Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Sichuan Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Xizang Zizhiqu		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Yunnan Sheng	possibly other provinces as well	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Hokkaidô		Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Honshu		Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Kyushu		Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Shikoku		Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Korea
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kazakhstan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation	Amur		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation	Primorye		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation	Sakhalin		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia	Eastern Siberia		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Western Siberia	Western Siberia		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India		n.	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal			Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Western Australia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Belarus			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Czech Republic			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Slovakia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Switzerland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Denmark			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Finland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Ireland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Svalbard and Jan Mayen			Rønning, O. I. 1996. The flora of Svalbard.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Sweden			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bosnia and Herzegovina			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sardinia, Sicily	Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Montenegro			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	North Macedonia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Serbia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Slovenia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		Canada			FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		United States			FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. Note: as an adventive
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile			Ugarte, E. et al. 2011. Vascular alien flora, Chile. Check List 7:365-382.

Native
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Morocco

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation [Dagestan]
SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia]
MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan
RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation [Primorye, Amur, Sakhalin]
CHINA: China [Heilongjiang Sheng, Jiangsu Sheng, Jilin Sheng, Liaoning Sheng, Nei Mongol Zizhiqu, Qinghai Sheng, Sichuan Sheng, Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu, Xizang Zizhiqu, Yunnan Sheng (possibly other provinces as well)]
EASTERN ASIA: Korea, Japan [Hokkaidô, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku], Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India (n.), Nepal, Pakistan

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [Western Australia]

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden
MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France, Portugal

Naturalized
Northern America

REGION: Canada, United States

Southern America

SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile

Reference(s)

FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. Note: as an adventive
Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
Rønning, O. I. 1996. The flora of Svalbard.
Ugarte, E. et al. 2011. Vascular alien flora, Chile. Check List 7:365-382.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Medicines	folklore		Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicines	folklore		McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Vertebrate poisons	mammals		Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisons	mammals		Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisons	mammals		Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning Note: poisonous
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=32518. Accessed 12 May 2026.