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Mountain Sorrel
Oxyria digyna
  
0 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Mountain Sorrel (Oxyria digyna) 0 Nurseries Carry This Plant Oxyria digyna (mountain sorrel, wood sorrel, Alpine sorrel or Alpine mountainsorrel) a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family. It is common in the tundra of Arctic. Further south, it has a circumboreal distribution, growing in high mountainous areas in the Northern Hemisphere like the Alps, Sierra Nevada, and Cascade Range. It grows in dense tufts, with stems 10-20 centimeter high. Both flowering stems and leaf stalks are somewhat reddish. Leaves are kidney-shaped, somewhat fleshy, on stalks from the basal part of the stem. Flowers are small, green and later reddish, and are grouped in an open upright cluster. The fruit is a small nut, encircled by a broad wing which finally turns red. Forming dense, red tufts, the plant is easily recognized. O. digyna grows in wet places protected by snow in winter. Oxyria (from Greek) means "sour".
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial herb

Size
Size
0.1 - 1 ft tall

Form
Form
Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Flower Color
Flower Color
Green, Red

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Summer

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 2 confirmed , 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Lycaena cupreus Image
Lustrous Copper Lycaena cupreusLycaena cupreus
Lycaena phlaeas Image
American Copper Lycaena phlaeasLycaena phlaeas
*
Hyles lineata Image
White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers sandy or loamy soils. Does not grow well in clay soils.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
1

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Rock crevices, talus

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 14.0" - 123.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.25" - 4.14", Coldest Month: 17.7" - 50.5", Hottest Month: 36.5" - 77.3", Humidity: 0.94" - 25.16", Elevation: 483" - 14460"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Alpine Mountainsorrel


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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