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Rumex aquaticus
| Common name: |
Red Dock |
Family: |
Polygonaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
Plants can contain quite high levels of oxalic acid, which is what gives the leaves of many members of this genus an acid-lemon flavour. Perfectly alright in small quantities, the leaves should not be eaten in large amounts since the oxalic acid can lock-up other nutrients in the food, especially calcium, thus causing mineral deficiencies. The oxalic acid content will be reduced if the plant is cooked. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet since it can aggravate their condition[238]. |
| Range: |
Europe, including Britain but absent from Italy and the Balkans, to N. Asia. |
| Habitat: |
Shallow water at the margins of swamps[17]. Fields, meadows and ditches[4]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
1 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Dock [E], Paardenzuring [D], Paratella [E], Red Dock [H], Su Labadasi [E], Water Dock [H], Western Dock [B,P], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
aquaticus = in water;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Polygonales. Buckwheat family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Europe; Turkey; Us
|
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 1.8m. . It is in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind.
We rate it 1/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires wet soil and can grow in water.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Pond, Bog Garden.Edible Uses
Leaves.
Leaves - cooked[105].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Alterative; Astringent; Deobstruent; Detergent; Tonic.
The root is alterative, astringent, cholagogue, deobstruent,
depurative, detergent, laxative and mildly tonic[238]. It can cause or
relieve diarrhoea according to the dose, harvest time and relative
concentrations of tannin(astringent) and anthraquinones (laxative) that are
present[222]. It is used internally in the treatment of piles, bleeding of
the lungs, various blood complaints and also chronic skin diseases[4, 238].
Externally, it is applied to various skin diseases, ulcers etc[4].
The root has been used with positive effect to restrain the inroads made by
cancer, being used as an alterative and tonic[4]. The root is harvested in
early spring and dried for later use[4]. Some caution is advised in its use
since excess doses can cause gastric disturbance, nausea and dermatitis[222,
238].
Other Uses
Dye; Teeth.
Dark green to brown and dark grey dyes can be obtained from the roots
of many species in this genus, They do not need a mordant[168].
The dried and powdered root has a cleansing and detergent affect on the
teeth[4].
Cultivation details
A plant of shallow water[17].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ.
Division in spring.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for the family Polygonaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
Readers Comments
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Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Rumex+aquaticus
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Rumex+aquaticus
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