Rumex paucifolius
Rumex nematopodus
alpine sheep sorrel, alpine sorrel, few leaf dock, mountain sorrel
Arizona dock
erect, rarely ascending, tufted at base and branched only in inflorescence, occasionally inflorescences simple or nearly so, 10–40(–60) cm.
erect, branched in distal 1/2, 40–85(–100) 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 at maturity;
blade oblong-lanceolate to lanceolate, 20–35 × 5–12 cm, base cordate to broadly cuneate, margins entire or nearly so, flat, apex acute or attenuate.
terminal, occupying distal 2/3 of stem, usually lax and interrupted at least near base, narrowly paniculate, rarely simple.
terminal, occupying distal 1/2–2/3 of stem, interrupted in proximal 1/2, paniculate, branched.
articulated in proximal 1/3, filiform, 1–3(–5) mm, articulation slightly swollen.
articulated in proximal 1/3, filiform, 12–20 mm, 3–4 times as long as inner tepals, articulation weakly evident, not swollen.
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.
10–20 in whorls;
inner tepals ovate-triangular, 4–5(–6) × 3–4(–5) mm, base truncate to subcordate, margins entire, apex acute to subacute;
tubercles absent.
brown, 1.2–1.8 × 0.8–1 mm.
brown, 3 × 1.5 mm.
= 14, 28.
= 120.
Rumex paucifolius
Rumex nematopodus
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 nematopodus has been reported from several localities in Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico (K. H. Rechinger 1954). It is closely related to R. occidentalis, differing from that species in having longer pedicels and smaller inner tepals with acute apices. Those characters are highly variable in almost all species of the R. aquaticus aggregate, and the taxonomic status of R. nematopodus remains unclear.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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