Docks

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Docks photos - Clustered Dock | Curled Dock | Broad-leaf Dock | Slender Dock

Family Name: Dock (Polygonaceae)

Scientific Name:	Rumex spp.
Status:	Mix of Australian natives and exotics.
Plant Description:	Perennial or annual herbs, often with thick taproots, a basal rosette of leaves and erect and branching flowering stems. Leaves are hairless, often with short stalks and may be narrow or broad, depending on the species. Flowers are clustered at nodes in simple or spike-like or panicle-like flower-heads. Reproductive organs (stamens and carpels) are enclosed by six flower or perianth segments in two whorls; the inner three ‘valves’ often have marginal teeth and enlarge and thicken in fruit. Fruit is a triangular nut enclosed in the persistent valves.
Habitat:	Docks are often indicative of moist to wet ground with poor drainage and at least intermittent waterlogging. Freshwater swamps and marshes are common habitats. However the exotic species, in particular, will grow readily in seasonally wet depressions, waste lands, roadsides and cultivated ground. None of the species are, if ever, associated with saline environments.
Comments:	There are about 10 species of Dock found in Victoria. Most species are common and widespread. Native species include Slender Dock (Rumex brownii), Wiry Dock (R. dumosus), Mud Dock (R. bidens) and Glistening Dock (R. crystallinus). Exotic species include Curled Dock (R. crispus), Clustered Dock (R. conglomeratus), Fiddle Dock (R. pulcher) and Broad-leaf Dock (R. obtusifolius). Further information about the weedy species can be found at http://www.weeds.gov.au/index.html (external link).

Docks photos

*Clustered Dock (Rumex conglomeratus***)
Fruit clusters of Clustered Dock Photo: A J Brown	Clustered Dock flower stalk Photo: A J Brown
Clustered Dock leaf Photo: A J Brown	Stem of Clustered Dock Photo: A J Brown
Young fruiting shoots of Clustered Dock Photo: A J Brown	Clustered Dock fruit Photo: A J Brown
Clustered Dock plant Photo: A J Brown

*Curled Dock (Rumex crispus***)
Flower stalk of Curled Dock Photo: A J Brown	Curled Dock fruit Photo: A J Brown
Curled Dock plant Photo: A J Brown	Curled Dock plant Photo: A J Brown
Curled Dock leaf Photo: A J Brown

*Broad-leaf Dock (Rumex obtusifolius***)
Flower stalks of Broad-leaf Dock Photo: A J Brown	Fruit of Broad-leaf Dock Photo: A J Brown
Broad-leaf dock plant Photo: A J Brown	Broad-leaf Dock shoots Photo: A J Brown
Leaves of Broad-leaf Dock Photo: A J Brown

*Slender Dock (Rumex brownii***)
Slender Dock plant Photo: A J Brown	Leaf and stem junction of Slender Dock Photo: A J Brown
Ripe fruit clusters of Slender Dock Photo: A J Brown	Ripe fruit of Slender Dock Photo: A J Brown

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