Smaller dock
Rumex lanceolatus

Family: Polygonaceae

What it is like

A herb. It is erect and grows 90 cm high. It is broad-leaved and keeps growing from year to year. The leaves are simple and alternate. They are broadly sword shaped. The flowers are in dense groups at the top of the plant. The flowers are small and 3-4 mm long. They are yellow. The fruit is an oval 3-sided nut. It is wrapped in the inner flower segments.

There are about 200 Rumex species.

Where it is found

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in seasonally wet places where the dry season can be 6-11 months. It grows in hot arid regions. It grows between 85-2,800 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Central Africa, East Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The leaves are cooked and eaten with maize porridge.

Occasionally it is a cultivated food plant.

Edible parts

Leaves

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Dolonyana, Idololenkonyane, Kgamane, Tongblaar

Synonyms

Rumex ecklonianus Meisn.; Rumex ecklonii Meisn.; Rumex hydrolapathum C. H. Wright; Rumex linearis Campd.; Rumex meyeri Meisn.; Rumex meyerianus Meisn.;