Rumex maritimus
Rumex paucifolius
bristle dock, golden dock, maritime dock, rumex maritime
alpine sheep sorrel, alpine sorrel, few leaf dock, 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, tufted at base and branched only in inflorescence, occasionally inflorescences simple or nearly so, 10–40(–60) 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.
blade normally broadly lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, usually not hastate (without basal lobes), 3–7(–10) × (0.6–)1–3(–4) cm, base narrowly cuneate (gradually narrowing into petiole), margins entire, flat, apex obtuse or subacute.
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 2/3 of stem, usually lax and interrupted at least near base, narrowly paniculate, rarely simple.
articulated near base or at least in proximal 1/3, filiform, 3–8 mm, articulation weakly evident.
articulated in proximal 1/3, filiform, 1–3(–5) mm, articulation slightly swollen.
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.
3–10(–12) in whorls;
inner tepals broadly ovate or almost orbiculate, 2.8–3.8 × 2.7–3.6 mm, base cordate or rounded-truncate, apex obtuse or subacute;
tubercles absent.
light brown, small, 0.9–1.75 × 0.6–1 mm.
brown, 1.2–1.8 × 0.8–1 mm.
= 40.
= 14, 28.
Rumex maritimus
Rumex paucifolius
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 paucifolius is a montane species represented by two chromosome races (diploid and tetraploid) and several ecotypes. Smaller plants from California have been described as var. gracilescens; they are tetraploids and sometimes were regarded as a separate species (Á. Löve and V. Everson 1967; Löve 1986). B. W. Smith (1968) showed that both diploids and tetraploids (and even exceptional spontaneous triploids and individuals with higher polyploid chromosome numbers) occur in many other localities within the range of the species; the differences in chromosome number are not strictly correlated with distribution or morphology. Narrow-leaved ecotypes of R. paucifolius reported by Smith sometimes resemble other narrow-leaved taxa of subg. Acetosella, especially R. beringensis. Rumex paucifolius and R. beringensis may be regarded as morphologically and karyologically transitional between subg. Acetosella and subg. Acetosa. Rumex paucifolius was placed in the monotypic subsect. Paucifoliae Á. Löve & N. Sarkar. Later, Löve transferred it to the segregate genus Acetosella, based mostly on the chromosome number of the species, but morphology suggests it is a member of subg. Acetosa. Probably the best solution of this problem was proposed by Smith, who noted that “the composite range of vegetative, reproductive, and karyotypic characteristics of the forty-odd species now included in the diversified subgenus Acetosa would be only slightly extended by the addition of the five species now classified as Acetosella” (p. 683).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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