Western Dock
Rumex occidentalis

Family: Polygonaceae

What it is like

Rumex occidentalis is a PERENNIAL growing to 1.8 m (6ft). It is not frost tender. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 1.8

Where it is found

Moist and swampy areas, summer-drying meadows, seacoast to foothills, valley and open montane flats.

Western N. America - Alaska to California.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 1

Young leaves - cooked. Used like spinach. A bitter taste, the native North American Indians would add oil to improve the flavour. Young stems - cooked. Used like rhubarb. Seed - raw or cooked. The seed can also be ground into a powder and used to make a gruel or added to cereal flours when making bread etc. It is rather small and fiddly to harvest.

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Medicine

Rating: 1

The leaves have been used in herbal sweat baths to treat pains similar to rheumatism all over the body. A poultice of the leaves and mashed, roasted roots has been applied to sores, boils and wounds. A poultice of the root paste has been applied to cuts and boils.

Analgesic: Relieves pain.

Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Other

Rating: 1

Although no specific mention has been made for this species, 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.

Dye: Plants that provide dyes.

How it is grown

Succeeds in most soils but prefers a deep fertile moderately heavy soil that is humus-rich, moisture-retentive but well-drained and a position in full-sun or part shade. Plants were seen growing well in a sunny well-drained bed at Kew in 1989.

Propagating it: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring.

Best place to grow: Bog Garden; Cultivated Beds;

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness:

Growth:

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

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.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

R. fenestratus. Greene. R. aquaticus fenestratus. (Greene.)Dorn.