CURLED DOCK 



Leaves. — Crisped and wavy-margined; the lower ob- 

 long or oblong-lanceolate, six to ten inches long, long- 

 I)etioled; the upper narrowly oblong or lanceolate, three 

 to six inches long, short-petioled, cordate or obtuse at 

 the base. 



Flowers. — Small, green, borne in a branching panicle 

 twelve to eighteen inches long, rather open; the racemes 

 continuous or interrupted, one to five inches, long, with the 

 flowers in crowded whorls. 



Calyx. — Six-parted, the three inner segments mostly 

 developed into wings, and each bears a tubercle; the 

 three outer ones are unchanged in fruit. Of the three 

 tubercles one is fertile and bears a seed, the others are 

 sterile. 



Corolla. — Wanting. 



Stamens. — Six. 



Pistil. — With three styles; stigmas tufted. 



Fruit. — Akene, three-sided, plump, shining, loved by 

 the birds. 



The Curly Dock belongs to the irrepressible rabble 

 of immigrant weeds that no man can number and no 

 man control. One of the earliest Docks to bloom, 

 it can be easily recognized by its narrow, oblong leaf 

 with crisped and wavy margins. 



The stem simple and erect in May, is later topped 

 by a compound panicle six to twelve inches long of 

 small green flowers in crowded whorls. These flowers 

 are destitute of petals, but have six stamens and three 

 styles with tufted stigmas. The six sepals stand in 

 two rows of three; those of the inner row heart-shaped, 

 beautifully veined, uniting to form valves that enclose 

 the seed, giving it triple wings which greatly aids its 

 distribution by the wind; all three valves have a 

 rather thick, rounded, corky, tubercle on the back. 



