Rumex paucifolius
Rumex bucephalophorus
alpine sheep sorrel, alpine sorrel, few leaf dock, mountain sorrel
horned, red, red dock, ruby dock
erect, rarely ascending, tufted at base and branched only in inflorescence, occasionally inflorescences simple or nearly so, 10–40(–60) cm.
branched from base or near base, occasionally simple, slender, 5–50 cm.
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.
ocrea deciduous or partially persistent;
blade spatulate, lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate, 1–5(–8) × (0.5–)1–2.5 cm, base cuneate, rarely rounded, margins normally entire, flat, apex obtuse.
terminal, occupying distal 2/3 of stem, usually lax and interrupted at least near base, narrowly paniculate, rarely simple.
terminal, simple, racemose, occupying most of stem, interrupted, linear.
articulated in proximal 1/3, filiform, 1–3(–5) mm, articulation slightly swollen.
usually distinctly heteromorphic (much thickened distally), 4–7(–10) mm;
others less than 4 mm.
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.
2–3(–4) in lax clusters (reduced whorls);
inner tepals variable, often heteromorphic, triangular, narrowly triangular, ligulate, or ovate-oblong, (1.5–)2–4(–5) × (0.5–)1–3 mm (excluding teeth), base truncate, margins usually dentate, sometimes entire, apex obtuse or acute, usually not hooked, teeth 2–4(–8), at each side of margins, slender, straight or hooked, 0.3–1 mm;
tubercles absent, or 3, usually represented by minute swellings barely recognizable as tubercles.
brown, 1.2–1.8 × 0.8–1 mm.
brown to dark brown, 1.3–2.3 × 0.7–1.4 mm.
= 14, 28.
= 16.
Rumex paucifolius
Rumex bucephalophorus
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.)
Rumex bucephalophorus is a polymorphic species, especially within its native range. K. H. Rechinger (1939, 1964) and J. R. Press (1988) recognized several subspecies, but no attempt has been made to distinguish infraspecific taxa among the limited North American materials. This species occurs in the flora area as an uncommon, casual alien. It has the potential to naturalize in the southern United States, especially in coastal regions from the Carolinas to Texas, and in California.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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