Rumex maritimus |
Rumex orthoneurus |
|
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bristle dock, golden dock, maritime dock, rumex maritime |
Blumer's dock, Chiricahua dock, Chiricahua Mountain dock |
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Habit | Plants annual, rarely biennial [perennial], glabrous or very weakly short-papillose, mostly in inflorescence and on leaf blades, with fusiform, vertical rootstock. | Plants perennial, glabrous or indistinctly papillose-pubescent especially on leaf blade veins abaxially, with creeping or fusiform rhizomes. |
Stems | 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, branched above middle (only in inflorescence), 60–100 cm. |
Leaves | 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 deciduous or partially persistent at maturity; blade with lateral veins ± equal in size, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 20–40(–50) × 8–15(–18) cm, more than 3 times as long as wide, base broadly cuneate, obtuse, or weakly cordate, margins entire, flat, apex acute, subacute, or acuminate. |
Inflorescences | 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 1/2 of stem, often dense, narrowly paniculate. |
Pedicels | articulated near base or at least in proximal 1/3, filiform, 3–8 mm, articulation weakly evident. |
articulated in proximal 1/2, filiform, (5–)12–15(–17) mm, articulation indistinct, scarcely visible. |
Flowers | 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. |
10–20 in whorls; inner tepals ovate-deltoid, 4.5–7 × 3.5–7 mm, widest in proximal 1/3, base truncate or weakly emarginate, margins erose to weakly serrate or indistinctly denticulate in basal part, apex acute to acuminate; tubercles absent. |
Achenes | light brown, small, 0.9–1.75 × 0.6–1 mm. |
brown, 2.5–4 × 1.5–2.5 mm. |
2n | = 40. |
= 120. |
Rumex maritimus |
Rumex orthoneurus |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer–early fall. | Flowering late spring–summer. |
Habitat | Alluvial, riparian, and coastal habitats, mostly as a ruderal species | Along streams |
Elevation | 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) | 2500 m (8200 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; MA; NJ; YT; Europe [Introduced in North America]
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AZ; NM; Mexico (Sonora)
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Discussion | 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.) |
Rumex orthoneurus has been reported from northern Mexico (M. Fishbein 1993). The species is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 529. | FNA vol. 5, p. 516. |
Parent taxa | Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Rumex > subg. Rumex > sect. Rumex | Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Rumex > subg. Rumex > sect. Rumex |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Lapathum minus, R. aureus | R. densiflorus subsp. orthoneurus |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 335. (1753) | Rechinger f.: Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 40: 294. (1936) |
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