Rumex hastatulus
Rumex occidentalis
heartwing dock, heartwing sorrel, wild dock, wild sorrel
rumex occidental, western dock, western dock o n
solitary or several from base, erect or ascending, branched in distal 2/3 (in inflorescence), 10–40(–45) cm.
usually erect, branched from above middle or in distal 2/3, 50–100(–140) cm.
blade obovate-oblong, ovate-lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or lanceolate; 2–6(–10) × 0.5–2 cm, base hastate (with spreading lobes), auriculate, or occasionally without evident lobes, margins entire, flat, apex obtuse or subacute.
ocrea deciduous or partially persistent at maturity;
blade narrowly ovate-triangular, ovate-lanceolate, or oblong-lanceolate, normally 10–35 × 5–12 cm, base weakly to distinctly cordate, truncate, or rounded, margins entire, undulate or indistinctly crisped, apex acute or subacute, rarely obtuse.
terminal, occupying distal 2/3 of stem, usually lax and interrupted, narrowly paniculate.
terminal, occupying distal 2/3 of stem, dense to interrupted, narrowly paniculate, often repeatedly branched (branches usually more than 7–8 cm).
articulated in proximal part, filiform, 1.5–2.5(–3) mm, articulation indistinct or slightly swollen.
articulated in proximal 1/3, filiform, 5–13(–17) mm, normally not more than 2–2.5 times as long as inner tepals, articulation weakly evident, not swollen.
3–6(–8) in whorls;
inner tepals orbiculate or broadly ovate, 2.5–3.2 × 2.7–3.2 mm, base broadly cordate or rounded, apex obtuse or subacute;
tubercles absent or some inner tepals with slightly swollen central veins.
mostly 12–25 in whorls;
inner tepals orbiculate, ovate, or broadly ovate-triangular, 5–10(–12) × 5–8(–11) mm, base truncate to weakly cordate, margins entire or subentire to very weakly erose, apex obtuse or subacute;
tubercles absent.
brown or dark brown, 0.9–1.2 × 0.6–0.8 mm.
reddish brown, 3–4.5(–4.8) × 1.5–2.5 mm.
= 8 (pistillate plants), 9 (staminate plants), 10 (both sexes).
= 120.
Rumex hastatulus
Rumex occidentalis
Rumex hastatulus is distinct in subg. Acetosa and belongs to the monotypic subsect. Americanae Á. Löve & N. Sarkar. It is represented by at least two chromosome races: populations occurring from North Carolina to Florida and Mississippi normally have 2n = 8 in pistillate plants and 2n = 9 in staminate plants; populations from Louisiana to Texas and Oklahoma predominantly have 2n = 10 in both sexes. Rumex hastatulus has been reported from New Mexico (W. C. Martin and C. R. Hutchins 1980, vol. 1), but those records need confirmation. When fruiting, R. hastatulus has large inner tepals that distinguish it from R. acetosella, with which it is occasionally confused.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
In the nineteenth century, Rumex occidentalis commonly was misidentified as R. aquaticus, R. longifolius, or R. domesticus.
All of the species of subsect. Aquatici Rechinger f., represented in North America by Rumex occidentalis, R. arcticus, R. nematopodus, and R. tomentellus, form a taxonomically complex aggregate with poorly delimited, often intergrading species. Extremes are evidently distinct (e.g., R. arcticus and R. tomentellus). The taxonomy and distribution of members of this aggregate are still insufficiently known. Some authors prefer to treat all or most of these taxa as subspecies or varieties of R. aquaticus in the broad sense. From my point of view, this does not promote a better understanding of their variability and relationships.
A number of segregate species have been described and recognized in regional floras in North America. In most cases the features upon which these species are based intergrade. One of the most widely recognized segregates is Rumex fenestratus Greene emend. Rechinger f. [R. aquaticus subsp. fenestratus (Greene) Hultén, R. occidentalis S. Watson subsp. fenestratus (Greene) Hultén], which, according to K. H. Rechinger (1937), may be distinguished mostly by larger and more cordate fruiting inner tepals (more than 7 mm in R. fenestratus, usually less than 7 mm in R. occidentalis), and larger achenes (3 mm, and more than 3.5 mm, respectively). The morphotype of R. fenestratus occurs mostly along the Pacific coast from central western California to Alaska. Plants with large fruiting inner tepals [known as R. fenestratus var. labradoricus Rechinger f. or R. occidentalis var. labradoricus (Rechinger f.) Lepage] occur also in eastern Canada (Newfoundland and Quebec). In this treatment, I follow the taxonomic decision by J. E. Dawson (1979), who carefully analyzed the clinal variability of the R. occidentalis aggregate. However, R. fenestratus probably deserves recognition at least as a subspecies of R. occidentalis, but its taxonomic status needs additional investigation.
Rumex occidentalis was reported also from New Brunswick (which seems to be a rather natural extension of its range); however, the present status of the species in that province is uncertain.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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