Description
The red or maroon flowers of sheep's sorrel (Rumex acetosella) makes a pleasant splash of colour amidst the green of short grassland (here, on Mitcham Common in Surrey, England). Originating in Eurasia, sheep's sorrel is now a common weed in North America. It favours moist, acidic soil, thriving on floodplains and near marshes – a fair description of its location in this photograph. It has uses in traditional medicine but contains oxalates, which (on accumulation) are poisonous.