36 BULLETIN 1345, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
RUMEX MEXICANUS Meisn. 
Rumex mexicanus, one of the commonest of the docks of the Great 
Plains and Rocky Mountain region, is a stout, branching herb, with 
one or more erect stems, 18 inches to 3 feet high, rising from a peren- 
nial root. There is frequently a cluster of leaves about the base of the 
stem and leaves are scattered along the stem. The leaves are simple, 
generally 4 to 8 inches long and about an inch wide, smooth, and pale 
green. The numerous small, pale-yellow or greenish flowers are 
borne in a panicle at the end of the stem. The triangular fruits, 
which follow the flowers, are at first green, but later dry and brown, 
the seeds being inclosed in the shghtly enlarged sepals, each of which 
bears a calloused swelling on the back. Although these plants prefer 
moist soil, they endure much drouth and much alkah. They rarely, 
if ever, grow as pure stands over large areas, but are scattered with 
other plants. 
Department sample 8798 (G), consisting of the upper parts of 
leafy and fruit-bearing stems above the dead basal leaves, with the 
seeds mostly ripe, collected at Fargo, N. Dak., August 10, 1907, con- 
tained, on an air-dry basis, 7.5 per cent of moisture, and, on a water- 
free basis, 6 per cent of ash, 1.8 per cent of ether extract, 24.4 per 
cent of crude fiber, 57.9 per cent of nitrogen-free extract, 9.9 per cent 
of protein, and 9.4 per cent of pentosans. 
The succulent stems and leaves are relished by livestock, and the 
- seeds are a valuable feed. 3 
