Sheep’s Sorrel Seeds (Rumex acetosella)

Sheep’s Sorrel (Rumex acetosella) is a small native perennial of acid grassland, heaths and sandy verges, growing just 7 to 25cm tall. It has narrow, arrow-shaped leaves with a sharp, lemony taste and sends up slender spikes of tiny red and pink flowers from May to August, often colouring whole patches of thin turf a rusty red in early summer. The leaves have long been used sparingly for flavouring.

Sheep’s Sorrel is wind-pollinated, so it is not a nectar source, but it is the main larval foodplant of the Small Copper butterfly and its seed is taken by finches and other small birds. It spreads by creeping roots and by self-seeding to form low mats, which gives it a useful ground-cover role on poor, dry ground where little else will grow. It is a persistent perennial once settled.

This is a plant for acidic soil. It needs well-drained, low-fertility ground in full sun and is at home on sandy, gravelly or peaty sites, heathland edges and thin acid grassland. It will not thrive on chalk or limestone and is quickly crowded out on rich or damp soils. It suits an acid grassland restoration, a sandy bank, a heathy verge or a low-nutrient lawn.

Sow in spring onto bare or scarified ground, surface-sown and firmed in without covering. It establishes quickly on the right soil and may flower in its first season. Cut or graze in late summer after seed has shed, removing the cuttings, and keep fertility low so it is not shaded out. Combine with our acidic soils mixes or single species that share the same dry, acid, sunny conditions.