Rumex maritimus
Rumex lapponicus
bristle dock, golden dock, maritime dock, rumex maritime
dock, green sorrel, Lapland dock, Lapland Mountain sorrel, Lapland or Lapland Mountain sorrel
erect (some dwarf alluvial forms may be ascending or almost prostrate), branched in distal 2/3, occasionally almost near base, (5–)15–75(–100) cm.
erect, rarely ascending, several from base or often solitary, branched in distal 1/2 (in inflorescence), (10–)20–60(–100) cm.
ocrea deciduous to partially persistent at maturity;
blade lanceolate or lanceolate-linear, rarely oblong-lanceolate, usually very gradually narrowed at both ends, (4–)7–25(–40) × (1–)1.5–4(–5) cm, at least 4 times as long as wide, base narrowly cuneate, very rarely broadly cuneate, margins entire, flat or rarely weakly undulate, apex acute, very rarely subobtuse.
ocrea of at least middle and distal leaves with margins entire, not fringed, sometimes laciniate but only in distal parts;
blade broadly ovate, rarely almost round, oblong-ovate, rarely oblong-lanceolate, 3–10(–14) × 1–4(–5) cm, normally less than 2.5 times as long as wide, base sagittate (with acute or subacute lobes directed downward, ± parallel to petiole, or slightly incurved inward), margins entire, normally flat, apex subacute or obtuse.
terminal, occupying distal 1/2 of stem, occasionally most of stem, golden or greenish yellow, usually rather dense or interrupted in proximal part, broadly paniculate, branches spreading.
terminal, occupying distal 1/3 of stem, usually lax and interrupted especially in proximal part, narrowly paniculate or occasionally simple, cylindric (with 1st-order branches simple, or with few 2d-order branches).
articulated near base or at least in proximal 1/3, filiform, 3–8 mm, articulation weakly evident.
articulated near middle, filiform, 2–5 mm, articulation distinct.
15–30 (occasionally more) in rather dense whorls;
inner tepals narrowly triangular or narrowly rhombic-triangular, 2.5–3(–3.5) × 0.75–1.2(–1.5) mm (excluding teeth), normally ca. 2 times as long as wide, base truncate or broadly cuneate, margins prominently dentate, apex acute, very rarely subacute, straight, teeth 2–3(–4), normally at each side of margins, subulate-filiform, bristlelike, 1–3.5 mm, usually 1.5–2 times as long as width of inner tepals;
tubercles 3, equal or subequal, apex acute or subacute, smooth.
(2–)4–8 in whorls;
inner tepals orbiculate, occasionally broadly ovate, 3.5–4.5 × 3.5–4.5 mm, base rounded or cordate, apex obtuse;
tubercles small or occasionally absent.
light brown, small, 0.9–1.75 × 0.6–1 mm.
brown or dark brown to brownish yellow, 1.7–2.5 × 0.9–1.3 mm, dull.
= 40.
= 14 (pistillate plants), 15 (staminate plants).
Rumex maritimus
Rumex lapponicus
This Eurasian species is known as a casual alien from several localities in North America. Its distribution is poorly known due to confusion with native American species of this aggregate. Plants from Alaska and Yukon reported by E. Hultén (1968) as Rumex maritimus need additional study; they may be conspecific with some eastern Asian races of the R. maritimus aggregate. It is rare or almost absent in eastern Asia, where it is replaced by closely related taxa.
Species of the Rumex maritimus aggregate can be placed in a separate subsection Maritimi Rechinger f. (K. H. Rechinger 1937) or even section Orientales A. I. Baranov & B. V. Skvortzov (see A. E. Borodina 1977).
In addition to characters mentioned in the key and descriptions, additional distinctive features of Rumex maritimus are the smooth tubercles (occasionally finely striate or indistinctly pitted in herbarium specimens), and golden yellow or greenish yellow mature inflorescences.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
The name Rumex acetosa has been commonly misapplied to R. lapponicus. Native North American montane plants of the R. acetosa aggregate from the Rocky Mountains southward to Beartooth Plateau in Montana and Wyoming usually were referred to as R. alpestris [= Acetosa pratensis Miller subsp. alpestris (Jacquin) Á. Löve; A. pratensis subsp. arifolia (A. Blytt & O. C. Dahl) Á. Löve; R. arifolius Allioni, not Linnaeus f.; R. acetosa subsp. alpestris (Jacquin) Á. Löve; R. acetosa subsp. arifolius A. Blytt & O. C. Dahl]. Recent nomenclatural studies demonstrated that R. alpestris is an ambiguous name, which was probably based on plants belonging to R. scutatus Linnaeus (see I. O. Pestova 1998), and accepted the name R. arifolius for the predominantly European montane taxon. It differs from arctic plants, as well as from montane forms of the R. acetosa aggregate from southern Siberia and temperate North America, by its more robust habit, more branched inflorescence (similar to that of R. thyrsiflorus), and larger and more acute triangular-sagittate leaves (see A. I. Tolmachew 1966; N. N. Tzvelev 1989b; Pestova; R. Elven et al. 2000). Montane races possibly developed independently from R. lapponicus-like or R. acetosa-like ancestors, and they are still unclear taxonomically. Because of that, I prefer to keep those forms within R. lapponicus. The whole aggregate needs careful study; however, some authors prefer to include all arcto-montane Holarctic races of this aggregate in the collective and rather polymorphic R. alpestris in the broad sense (see Á. Löve 1944; Löve and D. Löve 1957).
Some arctic plants from western Alaska may be conspecific with Rumex pseudoxyria (Tolmatchew) Khokhrjakov [= R. acetosa subsp. pseudoxyria Tolmatchew; Acetosa pseudoxyria (Tolmatchew) Tzvelev], a taxon described from arctic eastern Siberia (A. I. Tolmachew 1966). This entity is evidently closely related to R. lapponicus but differs from all other members of the R. acetosa group in having basal leaves less than two times as long as wide, almost hastate or at least rounded-truncate at base, resembling those of Oxyria digyna (Linnaeus) Hill, cauline leaves small or completely reduced, and inflorescence occupying more than one-half of the stem; the plant itself is also somewhat similar in appearance to the European alpine species R. nivalis Hegetschweiler.
According to E. Hultén (1973), his Rumex arcticus var. perlatus, described from a single specimen collected at Tin City, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, agrees perfectly with the original description of R. acetosa subsp. pseudoxyria. It is unlikely that Hultén would confuse two rather distantly related groups. There is also a possibility that var. perlatus is identical with R. arcticus var. latifolius Tolmatchew (see discussion under R. arcticus). Additional collections are needed to confirm the occurrence of R. pseudoxyria in northwestern North America.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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