A monoclinic polymorph of the title compound, [Na(C
4
H
5
O
6
)(H
2
O)]
n
, is reported and complements an orthorhombic form [Kubozono, Hirano, Nagasawa, Maeda & Kashino (1993
▶
).
Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn
,
66
, 2166–2173]. The asymmetric unit contains a hydrogen tartrate anion, an Na
+
cation and a water molecule. The Na
+
ion is surrounded by seven O atoms derived from one independent and three symmetry-related hydrogen tartrate anions, and a water molecule, forming a distorted pentagonal–bipyramidal geometry. Independent units are linked
via
a pair of intermolecular bifurcated O—H⋯O acceptor bonds, generating an
R
2
1
(6) ring motif to form polymeric two-dimensional arrays parallel to the (100) plane. In the crystal packing, the arrays are linked by adjacent ring motifs, together with additional intermolecular O—H⋯O interactions, into a three-dimensional network.