Rumex

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Polygonaceae

• Scientific Name

  Rumex L.

• Description

  Genus Description - Fls perfect or unisexual; tep 3 ± 3, the outer usually narrower at anthesis; stamens 6, on short filaments; ovary trigonous; styles 3, spreading or deflexed over the angles of the ovary, each with a branched, stellate stigma; achene trigonous, closely invested by the accrescent inner tep; our spp. herbs, usually coarse; lvs subtended by sheathing stipules; fls small, greenish or suffused with red, in small verticils aggregated into a compound infl. At maturity the inner tep are called valves; often the midrib of a valve enlarges into an evident protuberance called a grain or tubercle. Our spp. all fl in summer and fr in late summer and fall. 200, widespread.

• Common Names

  dock, sorrell