COMMON SORREL 



659 



from equalling this,- both as regards size of the leaves and 

 productiveness. 



The following kinds have also been recommended : — 



Lettuce-leaved Sorrel. — A variety with broad, rounded, very 

 light green leaves. 



O. Blonde de Sarcelles. — This kind is distinguished from the 

 Broad-leaved French Sorrel by having longer leaves, and the 

 leaf-stalks entirely green, without any tinge of red. 



All these varieties, in short, differ very little from one another, 

 and, when propagated from seed, revert more or less to the Broad- 

 leaved French Sorrel. 



MAIDEN SORREL 



Rumex montanus, Desf. ; Rmnex arifolius^ All 

 Oseille vierge. 



Native of South Europe.— Perennial. — Leaves oval-oblong, 

 hastate at the base, almost smooth, rather deep green, with short 

 auricles of an almost bluntly rounded or shortly pointed shape and 

 directed outwards ; leaf-stalks pink-coloured at the base ; stem 

 resembling that of the Common Sorrel ; flowers dioecious, usually 

 barren. The leaves of this species are rather larger than those of 

 the Common Sorrel, and not so acid, and the plant is slow in running 

 to seed. As it is dioecious, it may be employed, like the Common 

 Sorrel, for making edgings, using male-flowered plants alone. Two 

 forms of this Sorrel are distinct, viz. the Common or Green-leaved 

 and the Crimped-leaved Maiden Sorrel ; the leaves of the latter 

 being larger, slender, very much crimped, and marked with small 

 red spots on the midrib and larger veins at the lower part of the 

 stem. The wild form of the Maiden Sorrel {Rumex arifolius) is 

 often met with in France. It is especially common in the pine 

 forests on the high mountain districts of Central and Eastern France 

 from the Vosges to the Alps. 



ROUND-LEAVED SORREL 



Rumex scutatus, L. - 



Oseille ronde. 



Native of South Europe. — Perennial. — Peculiar in appearance, 

 and not to be mistaken for any other Sorrel. The stems are 

 slender, mostly prostrate, with small gray-green rounded or heart- 

 shaped leaves, bearing at their base narrow auricles, directed 

 outwards ; unisexual flowers are produced on the same plant, in 

 spikes. The leaves are exceedingly acid. Its principal merit being 

 its resistance to drought, it is usually grown as a summer crop. 



