Rumex mexicanus
Rumex cuneifolius
Mexican dock, Mexican willow, Mexican willow or dock
Argentine dock, wedge-leaf dock
erect or ascending, usually producing axillary shoots below 1st-order inflorescence or at proximal nodes, 30–60(–90) cm.
and axillary shoots ascending or erect, branching in distal 2/3, (5–)10–30(–40) cm.
blades light green to yellowish green, linear-lanceolate, occasionally lanceolate, 6–14 × 1–3.5(–4) cm, usually ca. 5–7 times as long as wide, widest near middle, thin, not coriaceous, base cuneate, margins entire, flat or undulate, apex acute or attenuate.
blades distinctly obovate or obovate-elliptic, 5–8(–12) × (2–)3–5(–7) cm, widest in distal 1/2, rather fleshy, coriaceous, base cuneate, margins entire to obscurely repand, crisped or occasionally flat, apex obtuse, rounded.
terminal and axillary, terminal usually occupying distal 1/5–1/3 of stem, rather dense or interrupted in proximal 1/2, usually broadly paniculate (branches simple or with few 2d-order branches).
terminal and axillary, occupying distal 1/2–2/3 of shoots, usually dense at least in distal part, narrowly to broadly paniculate (but branches in most cases simple or nearly so).
articulated in proximal 1/3 or almost near base, filiform (thickened distally), 4–7 mm, not more than 2–2.5 times as long as inner tepals, articulation indistinctly swollen.
articulated near middle or in proximal 1/3, thickened (especially distally), 3–5 mm, not more than 2–2.5 times as long as inner tepals, articulation distinct, swollen.
10–20 in whorls;
inner tepals broadly ovate-triangular, occasionally broadly triangular, 3.5–4.5(–5) × 3.5–4(–5) mm, base truncate or indistinctly cordate, margins entire or indistinctly erose, apex obtuse or subacute;
tubercles 3, equal or subequal (much narrower than inner tepals).
5–20 in whorls;
inner tepals ovate-deltoid or ovate-triangular, 4–5 × (2.5–)3–3.5 mm, base broadly cuneate or truncate, margins entire, apex obtuse or subacute;
tubercles 3, equal or unequal, finely punctate.
brown or dark reddish brown, 2–3 × 1.5–2 mm.
glossy brown or dark reddish brown, 2.5–3 × 1.8–2.5 mm.
= 40.
= 40.
Rumex mexicanus
Rumex cuneifolius
Some authors recognize Rumex mexicanus in the broad sense, including in it many other taxa treated here as separate entities. For consistency, the entities of the R. salicifolius aggregate that are recognized herein are kept separate pending additional taxonomic research.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Rumex cuneifolius, a representative of the predominantly South American subsection Cuneifolii Rechinger f., is an uncommon alien known from a few localities in North America. It may have become naturalized in the southwestern part of the United States, especially in coastal regions. The species is known definitely from Portland, Oregon, and was reported as “apparently well established in s.c. Oregon” (C. L. Hitchcock et al. 1955–1969, vol. 2).
This species may have been reported from Provo, Utah, by Á. Löve (1986), as Rumex frutescens. However, it is not mentioned by S. L.Welsh et al. (1993).
The name Rumex frutescens Thouars has been misapplied to R. cuneifolius in both Europe and North America. According to K. H. Rechinger (1990), R. frutescens in the narrow sense is an endemic species of the remote South Atlantic islands Tristan de Cuhna and Gough; it differs from R. cuneifolius in having thinner rhizomes, shorter petioles and leaf blades, and smaller inner tepals. Rumex cuneifolius can hybridize with some other species (J. E. Lousley 1953).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
