Curly Dock
Scientific Name: Rumex crispus L.
Other Names: sour dock, yellow dock
Life Cycle: perennial
General Description: Perennial with large, narrow wavy leaves in a basal rosette with a sparsely leaved flowering stem.
Seedlings: Cotyledons
are hairless and ovate at the ends of long, ridged petioles. Young
leaves form a basal rosette and have red speckling.
True Leaves and Stem: Stems
are smooth, ridged, and often red. Leaves are alternate and have an
ochrea. Large mature leaves have wavy margins and very long and rounded.
Roots: taproot
Flower and Fruit: Flowers
in clusters on the upper portion of the elongated stem. Flowers are
greenish in color and turn a deep red when mature. Fruits are
triangular, cork-like structure that contain the seeds.