Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

PALE DOCK

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Rumex altissimus Alph. Wood

Ottawa County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 1-5 feet

Family: Polygonaceae - Buckwheat Family

Flowering Period: April, May, June

Also Called:

Tall dock, smooth dock.

Stems:

Erect, stout, ribbed, branched below inflorescence or unbranched.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, flat, not crisped; basal leaves long-stalked, lanceolate to narrowly-elliptic, 4 to 10 inches long, 1-2 inches wide, glabrous, bright green to pale green; midvein prominent; margins entire to irregularly scalloped; tips pointed; stem leaves smaller, numerous.

Inflorescences:

Panicle of whorled racemes, 2.5 to 12 inches long, loose, terminal; branches few, ascending.

Flowers:

Stalk 1/8 to 1/5 inch long; perianth segments 6, in 2 whorls of 3, united basally; outer 3 segments small, not turned downward in fruit; inner whorl enlarging, segments egg-shaped to elliptic at flowering, later heart-shaped, called "valves"; valves greenish to reddish-brown, 1/6 to 1/4 inch long and wide; tip blunt; margin entire; 1 or more valves with small tubercle (wart-like swelling) more than 1/2 length of valve; stamens 6.

Fruits:

Achene, 1/12 to 1/8 inch long, 3-angled, dark brown, enveloped by valves; seed 1, small.

Habitat:

Open wet places, waste ground, ditches, roadsides, low areas in fields; moist soil.

Distribution:

Throughout Kansas.

Origin:

Native

Reproduction:

Reproduces by seed.

Toxicity:

Contains oxalates, but poisoning has not been reported.

Uses:

The Lakota used the plant to treat diarrhea and stomach cramps and the Dakota created a poultice from the green leaves which they applied to boils. Wildlife eat the seeds. Nesting site for some songbirds.

Comments:

Pale dock is not a serious or aggressive weed. It can be removed from fields through intensive cultivation. The pollen can cause allergy symptoms.

See curly dock or wild begonia.

Pale dock inflorescence