Oxyria digyna

Alpine sorrel ( Oxyria digyna )

The Alpine sorrel ( Oxyria digyna ) is a plant of the family buckwheat family ( Polygonaceae ). He is often referred to simply as sorrel.

Description

The Alpine sorrel grows as a perennial herbaceous plant, reaching stature heights of 5 to 30 cm. It forms a permeated with a diameter of 5 to 10 mm as Überdauerungsorgan rhizome. It forms an arching, ascending to erect, simple, mostly leafless and mostly bare stems.

The most basal leaves are stalked with 3 to 12 cm very long. The 1.5 to 3 × 2 to 4 cm wider than long leaf blade is more or less kidney-shaped, almost radiärsnervig, smooth on the edge or slightly wavy. They taste sour (name ).

Two to five flowers hang in whorls in terminal, simple or branched inflorescences. The bracts are membranous. The flowers are hermaphrodite. This type has four (with Rumex six) greenish or pink bracts, the outer two are elongated and spreading, the inner much larger, and the fruit -fitting. The flowering period extends mainly from July to August.

The first green and later blood-red fruit with a diameter of 4 to 6 mm lens-shaped with broad, membranous, pink wings at the edges. The fruits ripen from July to November.

The chromosome number is 2n = 14, 42

Occurrence

The Alpine sorrel is common in the Alps, especially in the central chains and the Pyrenees, Carpathians to Asia and the Arctic region. In Austria scattered in Carinthia, Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg. It is regarded as a pioneer plant, preferably lime-free, moist soils, Schneetälchen and scree at an altitude 1700-3400 meters. In Austria, this species is the only representative of the genus Oxyria.