Swamp Dock (Rumex salicifolius)
Description
Rumex verticillatus This perennial plant is 3-5' tall and unbranched or sparingly so. The central stem is light green to reddish green, hairless, and terete. The alternate leaves are up to 12" long and 2-" across, becoming smaller as they ascend the stem. The lowest leaves have petioles about as long as the blade, while the middle to upper leaves have short petioles. At the base of each petiole, there is a papery sheath that wraps around the stem. Each leaf is oblong-lanceolate, smooth or slightly undulate along the margins, and hairless; the margins are not crisped. The central stem terminates in 1-4 whorled racemes of greenish flowers; each raceme is up to 12" long. Each flower consists of 6 tepals, 6 stamens, and a tripartite style; it is about 1/8" across. The tepals are green, while the anthers of the stamens are white or pale yellow. Each flower droops downward from a slender pedicel that is up to 2/3" (16 mm.) long. The blooming period occurs during the summer and lasts about 2 weeks. Pollination is by the agency of the wind. Each flower is replaced by a 3-valved fruit up to 1/6" (4 mm.) long when it is fully mature. Each valve is a modified inner sepal; it is deltoid-ovate, flattened, and smooth along the margins. Each valve encloses a lanceolate tubercle that is located along the upper-half of its central vein. Each tubercle contains a single achene (or grain); there are 3 achenes per fruit. Each achene is reddish brown and shiny. The 3-valved fruits persist into the fall, at which time they detach from the mother plant; these detached fruits can be blown about by the wind or float on water, distributing the achenes. The root system consists of a taproot. The preference is light shade to full sun, wet conditions, and mucky soil. This plant can tolerate standing water better than most Rumex spp. (Docks). It also tolerates shade better than most Docks.
Taxonomic tree
-
Domain: Eukarya
-
-
Kingdom: Plantae
-
-
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
-
-
Class: Magnoliopsida
-
-
Order: Caryophyllales
-
-
Family: Polygonaceae
-
-
Genus: Rumex
-
-
-
-
-
-
