Sorrel (Rumex scutatus)
All forms of sorrel are edible, but the weedier forms may have a bitter flavour due to high oxalate levels.
You may have encountered sorrel as a garden weed. It produces bright-green, shield-shaped leaves on square stems; people call the weedy forms dock. If you’ve absentmindedly put a hand out to yank dock from your garden, you’ve probably realised it doesn’t plan on going anywhere without a fight. It has deep roots, and they tend to stay in the ground.
If you do pull it, all you’ll end up with is a handful of leaves. Don’t toss them. Sorrel may be weedy, but it is edible. These lemony-flavoured leaves are one of the traditional plants harvested as spring greens. They are used in soups but also eaten as salad greens and in omelettes and sauces. Traditional sorrel soup is a purée made with stock, potato and onion and flavoured with a hint of nutmeg. You can also add lettuce and parsley. Serve with cream.Varieties
Varieties
There are several species found in gardens. You may encounter French sorrel (Rumex scutatus) or its weedier cousins, garden or sheep’s sorrel (R. acetosa) and dock (R. crispus). To add a zing to salads, try the red-veined variety (R. sanguineus) in the veggie patch. It has small green leaves veined with red. This variety isn’t so successful in soup as it tends to tint the soup brown rather than spring green.
Dock and garden sorrel are likely to grow in gardens as weeds, often in good, moist soils. They are taller and produce larger, longer-stemmed leaves than French Sorrel. The French species grows to around 45cm, while the weeds may reach 70cm and form a distinct clump. The weeds also have reddish-brown flowers. The French variety has yellow-green flowers mainly in summer.
Whatever the flower colour, removing the flowering stems promptly helps promote leafy growth for harvesting. Sorrel is full of vitamins and minerals. It contains vitamins A and C and its rich mineral content includes calcium, iron, phosphorus and magnesium.
“Dock and garden sorrel are likely to grow in gardens as weeds, often in good, moist soils. They are taller and produce larger, longer-stem med leaves than French sorrel”.
Sorrel
Common name: Sorrel
Botanical name: Rumex scutatus
Group: Herb
Requires: Sun to part shade
Dislikes: Becomes bitter if allowed to flower
Suitable for: Herb or veggie garden
Habit: Deep-rooted herb
Needs: Deep, moist, fertile soil
Propagation: Seed
Difficulty: Easy
Growing Sorrel
To grow sorrel in the garden (rather than rely on harvesting weeds), sow seeds from autumn to spring. Autumn and winter plantings are most successful in tropical and subtropical areas. As this is a weedy
plant, seeds germinate easily and the plant grows in a wide range of soils. Leaves are ready to harvest (picking from the outside) within 55 days of sowing.
