Rumex scutatus

Rumex scutatus is a plant in the buckwheat family, used as a culinary herb. Its common names include French sorrel,[2] buckler sorrel, shield-leaf sorrel, and sometimes the culinary name "green-sauce".[3]

Rumex scutatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Rumex
Species:
R. scutatus
Binomial name
Rumex scutatus
Synonyms[1]
  • Acetosa hortensis Garsault nom. inval.
  • Acetosa scutata (L.) Mill.
  • Rumex aetnensis C.Presl
  • Rumex glaucus Jacq.

As a culinary herb, it is used mainly in salads. The flavour of French sorrel is slightly bitter or tangy, spiced with a hint of lemon; the sharp flavour is due to oxalic acid.[4] French sorrel is hardy in most regions, tolerating frost, full sun and short dry spells.[5] It grows quickly to a clump up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) in diameter, with long leaves up to 10 centimetres (4 in) in width. It is sometimes preferred for culinary uses to Rumex acetosa, garden sorrel.[6]

References

  1. The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved 10 May 2016
  2. "Rumex scutatus". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. Robert Hooper, Lexicon medicum, 1829 s.v. Rumex scutatus
  4. The New Oxford Book of Food Plants, p 199, J. G. Vaughn and C. Geissler, OUP, Oxford, 1997, ISBN 0-19-854825-7.
  5. Welcome to Jekka's Herb Farm | Specialising in Organic, Culinary, Aromatic, Decorative and Medicinal Herbs
  6. Plants for a Future, retrieved 13 May 2016


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