Shiny Dock

Images ©:
©Rumex tenax Tony Rodd CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Rumex tenax Tony Rodd CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Rumex tenax


Erect herb to 50 cm with the stems having a zig-zag appearance (flexuose). Thin leaves at the base of the plant to 10 cm long on short stems, the undersurface marked by long ridges. Hard triangular fruit is a burr with a sharp spine at the top and two smaller side spines.


Details
Flora Type
Herbs
Other Common Names
Narrow-leaf Dock
Distinctive Features

Very narrow leaves up to 20 times longer than broad.

Biology

Perennial. Widespread in a range of environments on seasonally wet clayey soils near rivers and damp places.

Native Status
Native
Flowering Time

Sep-Jan

Taxonomy
Phylum
Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)
Class
Magnoliopsida (Flowering Plants)
Order
Caryophyllales
Family
Polygonaceae
Genus
Rumex
Species
tenax

Rumex is an old Latin name for the introduced Wrinkled Sorrel Rumex rugosus which is an edible green salad vegetable.


Interesting Facts
Similar Species

Hybridises with Slender Dock Rumex brownii.

Native Status
Native