THE PERSICARIA FAMILY 
127 
(10) Great Water Dock. (Rumex Hydrolap'athum.) — Enlarged perianth-lobes egg-shaped, all 
3 with a large oblong wart ; leaves lance-shaped. 
(11) Rumex max'imus. — Enlarged perianth-lobes heart-shaped, toothed, all 3 with a large 
oblong wart ; leaves heart-shaped. 
Flowers imperfect ; leaves halbert-shaped or roundish heart-shaped. 
(12) *Monk’s Rhubarb. (Rumex alpi'nus.) — Enlarged perianth-lobes egg-shaped, heart-shaped 
at the base, without warts ; leaves roundish heart-shaped ; stipules brown. 
(13) Common Sorrel. (Rumex Acetosa.) — Outer perianth-lobes reflexed, inner but 
slightly enlarged, heart-shaped, entire, with a minute wart at the base ; leaves arrow- 
shaped. 
(14) ^French Sorrel. (Rumex scutdtus.) — Inner perianth-lobes without warts ; leaves halbert- 
shaped. 
(15) Sheep’s Sorrel. (Rumex Acetosel'la.) — Outer perianth-lobes erect, inner but slightly 
enlarged, heart-shaped, entire, without warts ; leaves arrow-shaped ; stipules silvery 
white. 
1. Sharp Dock. (Rumex congdomerdtus. Murr.)— As just described. The flowers 
are perfect, in small, distant, many-flowered clusters (whorls) up the stem and branches forming 
a leafy branched cluster (panicle), each small cluster except the uppermost ones having a stalked 
leaf at the base ; the enlarged perianth-lobes are narrowly oblong and entire with a large oval 
wart on the back of each ; the unopened anthers are white ; the stem is 1-4 feet high, 
erect, smooth, slender, furrowed, with a few spreading branches ; and the leaves are stalked, 
wavy, oblong lance-shaped, rounded or slightly heart-shaped (cordate) at the base, pointed at the 
apex, those at the base of the flowers being small and egg- or lance-shaped. 
Common. In wet meadows, by the sides of pools and ditches, in waste places ; throughout 
England, Scotland, and Ireland. June — August. Perennial. 
2. Shore Dock. (Rumex rupes'tris. Le Gall.) — A very similar species to the last, 
but maritime, differing in having a closer flow r er-cluster (panicle) almost leafless except that the 
lower whorls of flowers have a leaf at the base, the inner perianth-lobes larger, and the lower 
leaves narrower, strap-shaped and tapering, not heart-shaped (cordate) at the base. 
Rare. On sandy sea-shores in the southern counties of England. June — August. 
Perennial. 
3. Bloody-veined Dock. (Rumex sanguin'eus. Linn.) — Another very similar species 
to the Sharp Dock (Rumex conglomeratus), but with the flowers in a rather looser cluster which 
is leafless except at the base ; the enlarged perianth-lobes narrowly oblong, one bearing a large 
globular wart and the other two bearing similar small ones or none at all ; the unopened anthers 
pale yellow; the leaves slightly narrower, usually heart-shaped (cordate), sometimes slightly 
contracted about the middle, fiddle-shaped, and wavy, and the veins often bright red. 
\Plate 42. 
Common. By waysides and hedges ; distributed throughout England, more rare in Scotland, and 
common in Ireland. June — August. Perennial. 
4. Golden Dock. (Rumex marit'imus. Linn.) — Flowers perfect, in crowded clusters 
(whorls) massed together up the stem and branches, with a leaf at the base of each cluster, 
forming a dense branched leafy cluster (panicle) ; the enlarged perianth-lobes bright yellow, 
about T 1 ^ inch long, 4-sided (rhomboidal), pointed, with 2 bristle-tipped (setaceous) teeth on 
either edge, and a narrow oblong wart on the back. [As described in the genus Dock (Rumex).] 
