Mountain Sorrel

A perennial green/herb in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae), native to arctic and alpine regions. In Scotland it’s found in the Cairngorms and other high mountains, growing in cold, rocky, nutrient-poor soils where few other edible plants thrive. The plant forms low clumps of round, bright green-turning-red leaves with a tart, lemony flavour, caused by oxalic acid (like garden sorrel), which are great in salads.

Traditionally it was valued by Arctic peoples, mountaineers, and crofters as a source of vitamin C to ward off scurvy.

Mountain sorrel produces reddish flower stalks in summer, with small clusters of greenish-red flowers that turn into papery, reddish seed wings. It’s extremely hardy, tolerating frost, wind, and short growing seasons, but it’s slow-growing and not suited for heavy harvesting.

In Scotland, it’s more a wild forager’s plant or a curiosity for an alpine garden than a crop, but it has cultural and ecological importance as one of the few edible greens that thrive in extreme upland environments.