Sorrel

Sorrel (''Rumex acetosa''), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ('dock' being a common name for the genus '' Rumex'').

Sorrel is native to Eurasia and a common plant in grassland habitats. It is often cultivated as a leaf vegetable or herb.

Description

Sorrel is a slender herbaceous perennial plant about high, with roots that run deep into the ground, as well as juicy stems and arrow-shaped (sagittate) leaves. The lower leaves are in length with long petioles and a membranous ocrea formed of fused, sheathing stipules. The upper ones are sessile, and frequently become crimson. It has whorled spikes of reddish-green flowers, which bloom in early summer, becoming purplish. The species is dioecious, with stamens and pistils on different plants.

Subspecies

Several subspecies have been named. Not all are cultivated.
* ''Rumex acetosa'' ssp. ''acetosa''
* ''Rumex acetosa'' ssp. ''ambiguus''
* ''Rumex acetosa'' ssp. ''arifolius''
* ''Rumex acetosa'' ssp. ''hibernicus''
* ''Rumex acetosa'' ssp. ''hirtulus''
* ''Rumex acetosa'' ssp. ''vinealis''

Distribution and habitat

''R. acetosa'' occurs in grassland habitats throughout Europe from the northern Mediterranean coast to the north of Scandinavia and in parts of Central Asia. It occurs as an introduced species in parts of New Zealand, Australia and North America. It can grow in poor soil.

Ecology

The leaves are eaten by the larvae of several species of Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) including the blood-vein moth, as well as by non-specialized snails and slugs.

Uses

Common sorrel has been cultivated for centuries. The leaves are edible when young but toughen with age; they may be puréed in soups and sauces or added to salad. The plant has a distinct sharp, sour taste. It contains oxalic acid, which can be poisonous in high quantities.

In India, the leaves are used in soups or curries made with yellow lentils and peanuts. In Afghanistan, the leaves are coated in a wet batter and deep fried, then served as an appetizer or if in season during Ramadan, for breaking the fast. In Armenia, the leaves are collected in spring, woven into braids, and dried for use during winter. The most common preparation is aveluk soup, where the leaves are rehydrated and rinsed to reduce bitterness, then stewed with onions, potatoes, walnuts, garlic and bulgur wheat or lentils, and sometimes sour plums.

Throughout eastern Europe, wild or garden sorrel is used to make sour soups, stewed with vegetables or herbs, meat or eggs. In rural Greece, it is used with spinach, leeks, and chard in spanakopita. In Albania, the leaves are simmered and served cold marinated in olive oil, or as an ingredient for filling '' byrek'' pies (''byrek me lakra'').

"Escalope de saumon à l'oseille" (salmon escalope in sorrel sauce), invented in 1962 by the Troisgros brothers, is an emblematic dish of the French nouvelle cuisine. French cuisine traditionally cooks fish with sorrel because its acidity dissolves thin fish bones.

In the Caribbean, the roselle flower commonly made into sweet drinks is known as "sorrel", but this plant from Western Africa is actually a form of hibiscus unrelated to the Eurasian sorrel herb.A hibiscus drink, by any of its names, is sweet
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See also

* Sorrel (disambiguation)

References

External links

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q26297

Rumex
Herbs
Sour foods
Leaf vegetables
Perennial vegetables
Medicinal plants
Caribbean cuisine
Plants described in 1753
Ukrainian cuisine
Polish cuisine
Dioecious plants
Russian cuisine
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus