Rumex obtusifolius (Bitter dock)

Rumex obtusifolius L.

Bitter dock, broad-leaved dock, bitter dock. broad-leaved dock

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Caryophyllidae	Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts
Order	Caryophyllales	Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants
Family	Polygonaceae	Knotweed or smartweed family
Genus	Rumex	Ancient Latin for “docks or sorrels”
Species	obtusifolius	“With blunt or obtuse leaves”

About plant names...

Native to western Europe, broadleaf dock is now widespread in North America. It prefers ditches, roadsides, wetlands, meadows, riparian areas, alfalfa and pasture fields (especially with poor drainage), orchards and other disturbed moist areas.

Plants: 12-48" (30-121 cm), on stout stems that don’t branch except just below the flowerheads.

Leaves: Basal leaves are not arranged in a rosette, and are oval, oblong, or heart-shaped, usually red-veined.. Upper leaves are lanceolate. All leaves have wavy edges, but less so than with curly dock.

Flowers: On spike-like racemes, greenish, pinkish, or reddish. They appear from June to October.

Fruits: ~¹/₁₆" (2-2.7 mm), comprised of triangular “valves” (wings), each with 2-4 spiny teeth on margins. One of the three wings has a seed.

These are closely similar:

7/3/2012 · Yellow Trail from Pearl Hill State Park to Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Massachusetts
≈ 14 × 21" (34 × 52 cm)

7/17/2009 · Mt. Lebanon St, Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 18 × 27" (45 × 67 cm)

	*Rumex crispus*	You are here Rumex obtusifolius
Common Name	curly dock	bitter dock
Plant	12-55" (30-140 cm) in height, erect but with a few branches.	12-48" (30-121 cm), on stout stems that don’t branch except just below the flowerheads.
Flowers	A panicle of racemes of whorls of flowers appears at the upper 6-18" (15-45 cm). (In other words, there are a whole pile of tiny, greenish, weird-looking flowers.) Each yellowish or reddish green flower is about ⅛" (3.2 mm) long. If you look closely, it consists of 3 inner sepals, 3 outer sepals, 3 styles, and an ovary.	On spike-like racemes, greenish, pinkish, or reddish. They appear from June to October.
Leaves	A large basal rosette about 12" (30 cm) around consists of smooth-edged, distinctively wavy (“crisped”) alternate leaves. Each leaf is up to 6" (15 cm) × 1" (2.5 cm), oblong-lanceolate in shape, and hairless.	Basal leaves are not arranged in a rosette, and are oval, oblong, or heart-shaped, *usually red-veined.*. Upper leaves are lanceolate. All leaves have wavy edges, but less so than with curly dock.
Fruit	Each flower becomes a *heart-shaped, toothless* fruit ¹/₁₆-⅛" (2-4 mm) that contains a single white seed that matures to dark brown.	~¹/₁₆" (2-2.7 mm), comprised of triangular “valves” (wings), each with 2-4 spiny teeth on margins. One of the three wings has a seed.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Disturbed habitats, railroad beds, fallow fields, ocean beaches, and other wetland margins.	Ditches, roadsides, wetlands, meadows, riparian areas, alfalfa and pasture fields (especially with poor drainage), orchards and other disturbed moist areas.
Type	Wild	Wild
Occurrence	Common	Common

Edibility: Poisonous Skull & Crossbones Fairly high levels of oxalic acid make this plant poisonous. Young leaves are sometimes cooked with at least one change of water to reduce levels of oxalic acid (and the associated bitterness). Green Deane at EatTheWeeds.com writes “Mainer Merritt Fernald, who was the Harvard wunderkind of botany from around 1900 to 1950, said all of the 17 native Rumex species in North America were edible. He completely failed to mention most of them are so bitter it would take days of boiling to make them palatable, if ever.” He nevertheless goes on to discuss the culinary properties of the Rumex genus.

Medical: No proven uses.

Online References:

Rumex obtusifolius on the University of Massachusetts Landscape, Nursery & Urban Forestry Program

Rumex obtusifolius on

Rumex obtusifolius on Wikipedia

Rumex obtusifolius on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Rumex obtusifolius on www.eattheweeds.com

Rumex obtusifolius on wric.ucdavis.edu

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 232

6/13/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts ID is uncertain

4/7/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 13 × 9" (31 × 24 cm) ID is uncertain

4/6/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 15 × 11" (37 × 27 cm) ID is uncertain

4/14/2010 · Mt. Lebanon St., Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 8 × 12" (20 × 31 cm)

Acetosa oblongifolia (L.) A. Löve & D. Löve

Rumex obtusifolius L. ssp. agrestis (Fr.) Danser

Rumex obtusifolius L. ssp. sylvestris (Wallr.) Rech. f.

Rumex obtusifolius L. var. sylvestris (Wallr.) Koch

Acetosa oblongifolia (L.) A. Löve & D. Löve

Acetosa oblongifolia (L.) Á. Löve & D. Löve

Rumex obtusifolius description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

7/3/2012 · Yellow Trail from Pearl Hill State Park to Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Massachusetts
≈ 12 × 17" (29 × 44 cm)

4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 9" (18 × 22 cm)

Range:

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