Rumex obtusifolius
Rumex triangulivalvis
bitter dock, broad-leaf dock, broad-leaf or broadleaf or bitter dock, patience a feuilles obtuses
triangular-valve dock, triangular-valved dock, white, white dock, white willow, white willow dock, willow dock
erect, branched distal to middle or occasionally in distal 2/3, often with few flowering stems from rootstock, 60–120(–150) cm.
ascending or erect, usually producing axillary shoots below 1st-order inflorescence or at proximal nodes, (30–)40–100 cm.
ocrea deciduous to partially persistent at maturity;
blade oblong to ovate-oblong, sometimes broadly ovate, 20–40 × 10–15 cm, usually less than 4 times as long as wide, base normally distinctly cordate, occasionally rounded, rarely truncate, margins normally entire, flat or undulate, rarely slightly crisped, apex obtuse or subacute.
blades light or yellowish green, veins scarcely prominent abaxially, linear-lanceolate, 6–17 × 1–4(–5) cm, usually ca. 5–6 times as long as wide, widest near middle, thin, not coriaceous, base cuneate, margins entire, flat or undulate, apex acute.
terminal, occupying distal 2/3 of stem, usually lax and interrupted, narrowly or broadly paniculate, branches usually forming angle of 30–45° with 1st-order stem.
terminal and axillary, terminal usually occupying distal 1/5–1/3 of stem, rather dense or interrupted in proximal 1/2, broadly to narrowly paniculate (branches usually with 2d-order branches, rarely simple).
articulated in proximal 1/3 or rarely near middle, filiform, 2.5–8.5(–10) mm, articulation distinctly swollen.
articulated in proximal 1/3 or almost near base, filiform (but slightly thickened distally), 4–8 mm, usually ca. 1.5 times as long as inner tepals, articulation indistinctly swollen.
10–25 in lax whorls;
inner tepals ovate-triangular, deltoid or, occasionally, lingulate, 3–6 × 2–3.5 mm (excluding teeth), ca. 1.5–2 times as long as wide, base truncate, margins usually distinctly dentate, rarely subentire, apex obtuse to subacute, straight, teeth 2–5, normally at each side of margin, short-subulate or triangular-subulate, straight, 0.5–1.8 mm, or shorter than width of inner tepals;
tubercle usually 1, sometimes 3, then 1 distinctly larger, smooth.
10–25 in whorls;
inner tepals broadly triangular, (2–)2.5–3.5(–3.8) × (2–)2.5–3(–3.5) mm, base truncate or rounded, margins entire or indistinctly erose only near base, apex acute, occasionally subobtuse-triangular;
tubercles usually 3, (1 in some forms, then large, occupying at least 0.5 width of inner tepal), equal or subequal, much narrower than inner tepals glabrous or minutely verrucose.
brown to reddish brown, 2–2.7 × 1.2–1.7 mm.
brown or dark reddish brown, 1.7–2.2 × 1–1.5 mm.
= 40.
= 20.
Rumex obtusifolius
Rumex triangulivalvis
Rumex obtusifolius, a member of subsect. Obtusifolii Rechinger f. (K. H. Rechinger 1937), is a polymorphic species represented in Eurasia by three or four rather distinct races often treated by European authors as subspecies or varieties. These taxa differ mostly in inner tepal dentation and geographic distribution. In North America the morphotypes often intergrade. In Eurasia this species is differentiated into predominantly western subsp. obtusifolius [including R. obtusifolius subsp. agrestis (Fries) Danser], eastern subsp. sylvestris (Wallroth) Rechinger f., intermediate central European subsp. transiens (Simonkai) Rechinger f., and montane subsp. subalpinus (Schur) Simonkai. Only subspp. obtusifolius and sylvestris occur in North America; the former seems to be more common. Subspecies obtusifolius differs from subsp. sylvestris in having larger and more prominently dentate inner tepals with one tubercle, or with three distinctly unequal tubercles; in subsp. sylvestris the teeth are usually less than 0.6 mm, developing only near the base of the inner tepals, and the tubercles often almost subequal.
Rumex obtusifolius may be expected elsewhere in the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Rumex triangulivalvis is the most common and widespread species of the R. salicifolius group. It often occurs in ruderal habitats and may be expected outside its present range.
The names Rumex salicifolius and R. mexicanus (in the broad sense) were commonly applied to this species by many North American and European authors.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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- Local floras: BC, CA, OR
- Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, Go Botany, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers, MI Flora, MN Wildflowers, MO Plants, PNW Herbaria
- WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
