Erect herb mostly 10-30 cm tall. Leaves shaped like an arrow head with spreading 'ears' at the base, 2-5 cm long. Leaf stalk 0.5-1.5 cm long. Sexes on separate plants. Flower clusters reddish, without leaves below the whorls. Flowers 5-8 in a cluster, stalks more or less as long as flower; spring. Nut 1-1.5 mm long. [Rumex acetosella L.]

Europe

Cosmopolitan temperate weed common in gardens and spreading by thin rhizomes.

Leaves may be poisonous to stock.

Naturalised in Vic, NSW, SA, WA, Qld, Tas.

Arrow-like leaves, creeping rootstock.

Source: Spencer, R. (1997). Polygonaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.