Summary ⁷

Rumex crispus, commonly known as curly dock, curled dock, or yellow dock, is a perennial flowering plant in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia and produces an inflorescence/flower stalk, which grows to about three feet tall.

Botanical Information ⁸

The scientific name is Rumex crispus and muelle rizado is the Spanish name. It is a perennial herb that grows to 1 meter tall. It has big, curly, leaves that grow to 1 foot long, getting smaller as they branch in an alternate pattern from the central stem. Three winged flowers bloom in clusters from the top of the central stem. It forms small green seeds that turn red in the fall. The above-ground parts of the plant turn brick red in the fall and can be easily spotted throughout the winter. The root looks a little like a carrot with a bright orange-yellow inner flesh and reddish-brown outer bark.

Ecological Information ⁹

Curly dock is a very common plant found in all of the US and parts of Canada. It is not an indigenous plant in New Mexico and has been introduced from Eurasia. It is a wetland species and its preferred habitats are disturbed soil, waste areas, roadsides, meadows, shorelines, and forest edges. It grows from sea level to 9,000 feet or higher.

Ethnobotanical Information ⁹

It is an edible plant and has many different medicinal benefits. The triangle seeds are edible and can be turned into flour. Young leaves are edible as well and can be sauteed with onion and garlic as a spinach substitute. Fresh leaves contain oxalic acid which can cause a digestive upset so the leaves are best cooked. The root is a mild laxative, alterative, and nutritive. It contains iron and has been used for iron-deficiency anemia, assisting in the absorption and utilization of iron. 1 teaspoon of the chopped up and dried root can be boiled in water for around 20 minutes in what is known as a decoction. Heavy laxative use should be avoided, especially during pregnancy.

References ¹⁰

Bosque Field Guide
Cartron, Lightfoot, Mygatt, Brantley, Lowrey. (2008). A Field Guide to the Plants and Animals of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque. (p. 94). New Mexico, University of New Mexico Press.

Moore, Michael. (2003). Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West. (pp.270-271). Santa Fe, New Mexico. Museum of New Mexico Press.

Tilgner, Sharol Marie. (2009). Herbal Medicine From the Heart of the Earth. (pp. 164-165) Pleasant Hill, Oregon. Wise Acres LLC.

Slattery, John. (2016) Southwest Foraging. (p. 112-114) Portland, Oregon. Timber Press Inc.

http://eattheinvaders.org/
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=RUCR

About the Author ⁹

Student author(s)*: Andreyes and Hector (age 13) from South Valley Academy

*The entries in this field guide have been edited by Yerba Mansa Project staff to ensure that they contain quality, fact-checked content and standardized formatting. https://yerbamansaproject.org/

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Jerry Oldenettel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/jroldenettel/36371095470/
2. (c) Andrey Zharkikh, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/zharkikh/6855234581/
3. (c) Harry Rose, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/macleaygrassman/15087835335/
4. (c) Harry Rose, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/macleaygrassman/14901200417/
5. (c) Melinda Young Stuart, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/melystu/47746280621/
6. (c) Harry Rose, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/macleaygrassman/14901284158/
7. Adapted by albuquerqueherbalism from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumex_crispus
8. Adapted by albuquerqueherbalism from a work by (c) kristen_himm, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
9. Adapted by albuquerqueherbalism from a work by (c) smiller33, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
10. Adapted by Hannah from a work by (c) kristen_himm, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• African Plants - a photo guide
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Calflora
• CalPhotos
• Catalogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
• eFloras.org
• Flora Digital de Portugal
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Jepson eFlora
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
• OregonFlora.org
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム
• 植物和名−学名インデックス YList

Range Map

(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

iNat Map