BUCKWHEAT FAMILY 51 



4. Rumex crispus L. Curly-leaved or Yellow Dock. Fig. 1433. 



Rumex crispus L. Sp. PI. 335. 1753. 



Perennial from a taproot, glabrous and dark green; stems rather slender, erect, 3-12 dm. 

 high simple or branched above, the branches erect. Leaves distinctly crisped and wavy-margined, 

 the lower oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 10-30 cm. long, long-petioled, the upper smaller and 

 narrower with short petioles, all cordate or obtuse at the base ; flowers rather loosely whorled ; 

 racemes 8-15 cm. long, forming an open or rather strict panicle ; pedicels jointed at the base, 

 longer than the fruit ; valves 3-4 mm. long, broadly ovate, truncate or cordate at base, somewhat 

 erose-dentate, each bearing a small oblong grain ; achene dark brown, shining, 2 mm. long. 



Fields and waste places; a cosmopolitan weed, widely distributed in the Pacific States and over the United 

 States and Canada generally. Naturalized from Europe. April-Aug. or in California throughout the year. 



Rumex sanguineus L. Sp. PI. 334. 1753. (Bloody or Red-veined Dock.) This European species has been 

 found on ballast and waste land at Linnton, Oregon. It is easily confused with R. crispus and R. conglomerates. 

 From crispus it is distinguished by short pedicels and only 1 valve grain-bearing; from conglomeratus by its 

 leafless inflorescence. 



5. Rumex conglomeratus Murr. Green or Clustered Dock. Fig. 1434. 



Rumex conglomeratus Murr. Prod. Fl. Goett. 52. 1770. 



Perennial, from a stout taproot, glabrous, rather light green; stem slender, erect, simple or 

 usually branched above, 4-15 dm. long, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, the lower 10-20 cm. long, 

 acute at apex, obtuse, rounded or subcordate at base, obscurely crisped on the margin, the upper 

 much reduced ; panicle very loose, with elongated somewhat spreading branches ; flower clusters 

 distant, forming much interrupted leafy-bracted racemes ; pedicels but little longer than the fruit 

 or often shorter, jointed near the base; valves fiddle-shaped, 3 mm, long, entire or obscurely 

 toothed at the base, each bearing a rather large oblong grain; achenes 2 mm. long, reddish 

 brown, smooth and shining. 



Low moist ground, Upper Sonoran and Transition Zones; rather a common weed in the Pacific States, natu- 

 ralized from Europe. May-Oct. 



6. Rumex violascens Rech. f. Sonora Dock. Fig. 1435. 



Rumex violascens Rech. f. Rep. Spec. Nov. 39: 171. 1936. 



Perennial, glabrous, from an elongated taproot, dark green, usually tinged with red ; stems 

 erect, stout, 3-8 dm. high, simple or sparingly branched. Lower leaves narrowly oblong or spatu- 

 late, 4-10 cm. long, flat or obscurely crisped, the upper reduced and mostly linear-lanceolate; 

 racemes interrupted, ascending, 5-12 cm. long forming rather a narrow leafy-bracted panicle; 

 flower clusters dense; pedicels jointed below the middle, about as long as the fruit; valves 3-4 

 mm. long, narrowly ovate-triangular, the apex more or less prolonged, erose or few-toothed 

 toward the base, all bearing rather prominent oblong grains, with crenate margins; achene 2.5 

 mm. long, brown, smooth and shining. 



Low moist ground, Sonoran Zones; Colorado Desert, southern California, Arizona, and Texas south to 

 central Mexico. Type locality: Tampico, Mexico. March-Aug. This species has been confused with K. tier- 

 landieri Meissn. 



7. Rumex salicifolius Weinm. Willow Dock. Fig. 1436. 



Rumex salicifolius Weinm. Flora 4: 28. 1821. 



Rumex crassus Rech. f. Rep. Spec. Nov. 40: 295. 1936. 



Rumex transitorius Rech. f. op. cit. 296. 



Perennial from a stout taproot, the stems usually several, decumbent or more commonly 

 prostrate, 3-7 dm. long, leafy, strongly grooved. Leaves linear-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 

 6-12 cm. long, acute at apex, obtuse at base, bright green, flat, entire ; petioles of the lower leaves 

 long as the blades, the upper much shorter ; racemes short and congested into a dense spike-like 

 panicle, or sometimes more open; pedicels jointed near the base; valves deltoid, 3 mm. long, 

 truncate at base ; one or rarely two of the wings with a large grain broader than the free margin 

 of the wing; seeds broadly ovoid-triquetrous, 2.5 mm. long, smooth and shining. 



Low moist ground, Upper Sonoran and Transition Zones; mostly near the coast, Vancouver Island, British 

 Columbia to southern California. Type locality: San Francisco, California. May-Sept. 



Rumex salicifolius var. denticulatus Torr. Bot. Mex. Bound. 178. 1859 {Rumex lacustris Greene 

 Erythea 3: 63. 1895. Rumex salicifolius var. montigemtus Jepson, Man. Fl. PI. Calif. 292. 1925. Kumex 

 califomicus Rech. f. Rep. Sp. Nov. 40: 297. 1936. Rumex tnanguvalvxs (Danser) Rech. f. Field Mus. Hot. 

 Ser 17- 64. 1937, as to Pacific Coast plants.) Perennial from a stout taproot, glabrous and pale green the 

 stems erect or decumbent, 3-6 dm. high. Leaves linear-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 5-15 cm long, acute at 

 apex, cuneate to rounded at base; valves deltoid-ovate, 4-6 mm. long, acute at apex, truncate at base, all three 

 wings with rather small oblong grains much narrower than the free margin of the wing, or the grains all want- 

 ing; seed 2 mm. long, broadly ovoid-triquetrous. Low ground, Upper Sonoran to Boreal Zones; Washington to 

 southern California. Type locality: California. May-Oct. 



8. Rumex pulcher L. Fiddle Dock. Fig. 1437. 



Rumex pulcher L. Sp. PI. 336. 1753. 



Perennial, the stems erect, 5-8 dm. high, rather slender, with rigid divaricately spreading 

 branches. Lower leaves long-petioled, oblong or some of them fiddle-shaped, 3-15 cm. long, 

 obtuse at apex, cordate at base, scabrous beneath, the upper ones short-petioled, smaller and 

 narrowed at both ends; flowers in a loose panicle with elongated divergent branches, the clusters 

 rather remote, naked or leafy; pedicels jointed at or below the middle, about equaling the fruit; 

 valves ovate or oblong-ovate, 4 mm. long, usually of unequal size, spiny-toothed, truncate at base ; 

 two or sometimes all three bearing small grains ; achene about 2 mm. long, smooth and shining. 



Waste places, becoming rather widely introduced in California. Native of Europe. May-Sept. 



