Rumex venosus

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Rumex venosus
Rumexvenosus.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Rumex
Species:
R. venosus
Binomial name
Rumex venosus

Rumex venosus is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by the common names veiny dock, [1] winged dock, sand dock, [2] and wild-begonia (though it is not related to the genus Begonia ). While not of any particular agricultural use, its cousins rhubarb and buckwheat are. It is native to central and western North America, from southern parts of the Canadian prairies, through to Mexico.

Contents

It can be found in many types of habitat, including sagebrush, dunes, and other sandy areas. [2] It is commonly found in heavily grazed pastures as livestock tend to avoid it, allowing veiny dock to spread uninhibited. It is a common food plant of the ruddy copper butterfly. [3]

Description

It is a perennial herb producing decumbent, spreading, or upright stem 4 to 20 centimetres (1+1⁄2 to 8 in) tall, [4] usually with a few branches. It grows from a creeping rhizome. [2] The light green leaves are veiny (lending the species its name), [4] lance-shaped to oval with smooth or wrinkled edges, and grow 2–15 cm (3⁄4–6 in) long [2] and 1–5 cm (1⁄2–2 in) wide. [4] Each leaf has a papery, sheath-like stipule above it. [2] The inflorescence grows as either an axillary or terminal panicle and is densely flowered. The flowers themselves are not showy, being green and inconspicuous. They have 6 reddish [2] sepals, 6 stamen, and 1 pistil. The bright, pink colour of the flowers comes from the inner sepals of each flower when the fruit matures. [4] The sepals enlarge to about 3 mm (1⁄8 in) long [2] and 1.5 cm across, turning quite veiny, and surround the achene. The plant flowers from mid-spring to mid-summer. [4]

Uses

Like all docks, Rumex venosus is considered edible,[ citation needed ] but the young leaves tend to be too sour to be palatable. Since the leaves and shoots remain tender for most of the growing season, docks make good cooked vegetables, similar to beet shoots, but will likely require multiple boiling to remove some of the bitter taste. The achenes can be boiled into a mush or ground into a flour, but the process of removing the seeds from the chaff is considered too time consuming to be worth the effort. Docks contain high levels of vitamin C and beta-carotene, with Rumex crispus having the highest levels, greater than that of oranges and carrots, respectively.[ citation needed ]

The leaves have been used to relieve the burning of stinging nettle, and can be dried and used as a powder to help speed the healing of wounds. Docks contain anthraquinones, which have laxative and antibacterial properties, as well as stopping the growth of some parasites and fungi.[ citation needed ] The roots were mashed for use as a poultice. [4] The roots can also be boiled to make red, yellow, or black dye. [4] Native Americans made an orange dye.

Precautions

Rumex venosus contains toxic oxalates which can cause vomiting, cramps, or diarrhea. While a large quantity would have to be consumed in order to experience these toxic effects, it is recommended that people with kidney problems, the elderly, or small children refrain from using docks. Calcium is known to neutralize the oxalates, making it advisable to serve the vegetable with a cream sauce.

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<i>Rumex maritimus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rumex maritimus, commonly called golden dock, bristle dock, or seashore dock, is an annual plant species of the genus Rumex. Rumex maritimus grows in Argentina, Burma, Canada, China, and the United States. It is native to Canada and most of the 48 states. The life span of Rumex maritimus is rarely biennial in moist environments. This herb belongs to the family Polygonaceae.

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<i>Clematis hirsutissima</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Clematis hirsutissima is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name hairy clematis or vase flower. It is a perennial herb that is native to much of the western United States, from Washington to Nebraska. It is a small, erect plant which, unlike other Clematis, does not generally produce vines. It is quite variable in appearance, especially across varieties. In general the hairy stem reaches up to about half a meter tall and has many large hairy leaves divided into lance-shaped lobes. The inflorescence appears at the tip of the stem and bears a solitary flower. The flower is made up of an urn-shaped cup of deep purple-blue petal like sepals, which are fuzzy and have pointed or rounded tips. Rare individuals have white or pinkish sepals. There are no true petals. The fruit is a hairy achene with a very long beak and a plume on the end; it is dispersed by wind.

<i>Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Rumex brownii</i> Species of herb

Rumex brownii, the hooked dock, Browne's dock or swamp dock, is a leafy perennial herb native to Australia, and is widespread and grows in disturbed sites. It is an introduced weed in the Pacific Islands, England, Japan, and New Zealand.

<i>Tetradymia canescens</i> Species of flowering plant

Tetradymia argyraea is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names spineless horsebrush and gray horsebrush. It is native to western North America.

<i>Tetradymia spinosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Tetradymia spinosa is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name shortspine horsebrush. It is native to the western United States, especially the basins and plateaus west of the Rocky Mountains. It grows in sagebrush, woodlands, and scrub habitat, often among shadscale in alkaline areas such as playas. It is a bushy shrub with many branches coated in woolly white fibers and growing to a maximum height around a meter. The leaves are narrow, curving, and hooklike, hardening into sharp spines up to 2.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence bears one or two flower heads which are each enveloped in four to six woolly phyllaries. Each head contains up to 8 tubular yellow disc flowers up to 1 cm long. The fruit is a densely hairy achene which may be nearly 2 cm long, including its pappus of long bristles.

<i>Rumex sanguineus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rumex sanguineus, commonly known as wood dock, bloody dock or red-veined dock, is a perennial flowering plant species in the family Polygonaceae. Rumex sanguineus is a dicot and can be observed in Europe with at least two varieties.

<i>Rumex fueginus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rumex fueginus, known as American dock, golden dock, and Tierra del Fuego dock, is a flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae. Rumex fueginus was first formally named by Rodolfo Armando Phillipi. Rumex fueginus is native from Canada in northern North America to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America. It has previously been considered a subspecies or variety of Rumex maritimus, a Eurasian species.

<i>Rumex occidentalis</i> Species of flowering plant

Rumex occidentalis is a flowering plant species belonging to the family Polygonaceae. Commonly known as western dock, Rumex occidentalis can be found in parts of Western North America.

Rumex spiralis is a flowering plant commonly known as winged dock in the family Polygonaceae. This is a perennial herbaceous plant that is predominately native to southern Texas. This plant grows between 0–200 m in altitude.

References

  1. ↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Rumex venosus". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 32. ISBN   0-87842-280-3. OCLC   25708726.
  3. ↑ Warren, Andrew; Harrera, Alfonso. "Butterflies of Oregon Their Taxonomy, Distribution, and Biology". Lepidoptera of North America. 6.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 218. ISBN   1-4930-3633-5. OCLC   1073035766.
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