Oxyria digyna (L.) Hill
mountain sorrel (alpine mountainsorrel)
Polygonaceae (Buckwheat family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
mountain sorrel (alpine mountainsorrel)
Polygonaceae (Buckwheat family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a long, stout, fleshy taproot and branched crown; stems erect, few to numerous, 5-50 cm tall, smooth, often reddish-tinged, strongly acrid-juiced.
Leaves:
Basal leaves round to kidney-shaped, the margins slightly wavy, smooth, the blades 1-5 cm wide, the stalks 4-8 cm long; stem leaves similar, usually 1 or lacking; stipules sheathing, membranous, brownish or reddish, the sheaths loose, oblique.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of whorled flowers in a dense, narrow panicle-like raceme 5-15 cm long; perianths greenish or reddish, the segments 4, 1.5-2.5 mm long; stamens 6; sepals 4.
Fruits:
Achenes, lens-shaped, widely winged, 4-6 mm wide.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Mid Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Oxyria digyna
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1862 | 300 | 2659 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
30 | 0 | 220 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
9 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
246 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(31), BAFA(64), BWBS(3), CMA(1), CWH(2), ESSF(91), IMA(13), MH(9), MS(1), SBS(2), SWB(12) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist rock outcrops, talus and scree slopes, streambanks and snowbed sites from the upper montane to alpine zones; common throughout BC, except rare on the Queen Charlotte Islands; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to NH, AZ, NM and CA; Iceland, Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Rumex digyna L.