Rumex venosus
Rumex paucifolius
veiny dock, wild begonia, wing dock
alpine sheep sorrel, alpine sorrel, few leaf dock, mountain sorrel
ascending or, rarely, erect, usually producing axillary shoots near base, (10–)15–30(–40) cm.
erect, rarely ascending, tufted at base and branched only in inflorescence, occasionally inflorescences simple or nearly so, 10–40(–60) cm.
blades ovate-elliptic, obovate-elliptic, or ovate-lanceolate, (2–)4–12(–15) × 1–5(–6) cm, subcoriaceous, base narrowly to broadly cuneate, margins entire, flat or slightly undulate, apex acute or acuminate.
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 and axillary, usually occupying distal 2/3 of stem/shoot, usually dense, or interrupted in proximal part, broadly paniculate.
terminal, occupying distal 2/3 of stem, usually lax and interrupted at least near base, narrowly paniculate, rarely simple.
articulated near middle, filiform or slightly thickened, (8–)10–16 mm, articulation distinct, slightly swollen.
articulated in proximal 1/3, filiform, 1–3(–5) mm, articulation slightly swollen.
5–15 in whorls;
inner tepals distinctly double-reticulately veined, orbiculate or reniform-orbiculate, 13–18(–20) × (20–)23–30 mm, base deeply emarginate or cordate, margins entire, apex rounded, obtuse, rarely subacute, with short, broadly triangular tip;
tubercles absent, occasionally very small.
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.
brown or dark brown, 5–7 × 4–6 mm.
brown, 1.2–1.8 × 0.8–1 mm.
= 40.
= 14, 28.
Rumex venosus
Rumex paucifolius
Rumex venosus is a distinctive species rarely confused with any other members of the genus. However, I have seen herbarium specimens of it misidentified as R. hymenosepalus, and vice versa.
(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.)
- Local floras:
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
KS Wildflowers, 
MN Wildflowers, 
PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
- Local floras:
BC, CA, OR, WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria
- WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
