Menu Close

Is red veined sorrel edible?

Is red veined sorrel edible?

Red veined sorrel, also called bloody dock or bloody sorrel is a member of the buckwheat family and grown for its edible leaves. It may be edible, but you don’t need to plant sorrel in a food garden.

What do I do with blood sorrel?

They may be harvested as a baby leaf and used in salads, but can also be harvested when mature and cooked like spinach. Sorrel works well as an accompaniment to fish, meat and egg dishes, and as an ingredient in soup and gratins. Leaves may also be added raw to dishes.

Do deer eat bloody docks?

This culinary herb as well as an ‘edible ornamental’, Bloody Dock Sorrel is a wonderful addition to salads and soups. As an herb, continually harvest and never let the plant flower. It will grow from early spring to fall. It likes rich, moist soil and is considered deer resistant.

How do you divide bloody dock?

Bloody dock can be grown from seeds, or clump-divisions. They don’t like being transplanted, though. Once they established, divide the clumps in early spring. If left unchecked, it grows tall and will have smaller leaves and goes to seed fast.

Is red sorrel poisonous?

Red sorrel (Rumex acetosella) is a perennial weed that is easily identified by its red flowers and spade-shaped leaves. The weed is edible, and some people grow it as a green or an herb. The tart flavor is often compared to lemons or sour apples. While the plant is safe for humans, it is toxic to livestock.

Does bloody dock a flower?

Bloody dock has tiny flowers on not particularly attractive infloresences. In late spring to early summer erect stems 2-3 feet tall grow from the rosette, covered with smaller leaves and a non-descript inflorescence of tiny, star-shaped flowers in a panicle.

What does bloody sorrel taste like?

The plant contains oxalic acid (so does spinach) which may cause stomach discomfort when ingested or skin irritation on sensitive people. Oxalic acid is responsible for giving red veined sorrel a bitter lemon flavor and in large quantities can cause mineral deficiencies, specifically calcium.

How do you eat a bloody dock?

If used as a vegetable, only the tender young leaves are edible raw, with a flavor like spinach or chard with a hint of lemony tartness. The young leaves can also be cooked like spinach or chard. Older leaves become tougher and bitter and are essentially inedible by the time they are the mature size.

Is Bloody dock perennial?

The leaves of bloody dock have a distinctive network or brightly colored veins. This herbaceous perennial produces a tightly packed rosette of leaves about a foot tall from a deep taproot.

Is Bloody dock a sorrel?

Bloody dock plant, aka red veined sorrel (Rumex sanguineus), is a rosette forming perennial from the buckwheat family. Bloody dock plant is native to Europe and Asia but has naturalized in some areas of the United States and Canada. Wild growing red veined sorrel can be found in ditches, clearings, and forests.

Is it OK to eat a bloody dock plant?

Bloody dock plants are edible; however, some caution is advised. The plant contains oxalic acid (so does spinach) which may cause stomach discomfort when ingested or skin irritation on sensitive people.

What are the characteristics of a bloody dock?

Noteworthy Characteristics Leaves are intricately veined in blood-red or dark purple. All parts may cause mild stomach upset if eaten, and contact with the foliage may irritate skin. Care Grow in full sun and moderately fertile, well-drained soil. Propagation Sow seeds in situ in spring. Self-seeds freely.

Where does the bloody dock finegardening plant come from?

It is grown mostly as a foliage plant or ornamental vegetable, but it also produces erect stems of tiny, star-shaped green flowers that turn reddish brown. These are followed by dark brown fruit. Native to Europe, northern Africa, and southwest Asia. Noteworthy Characteristics Leaves are intricately veined in blood-red or dark purple.

What kind of food can you get from a dock?

There are several sources of food in this family of plants. This article deals predominantly with Rumex crispus; Curly Dock, and R. obtusifolius; Bitter Dock. Not including burdock, (Articum spp) which is not in the Rumex family, Or Sheep Sorrel (Rumex acetosella) although sheep sorrel is indeed edible and delicious.