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Flowers: |
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Fruit: |
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status
flower
inner
morph
petals
(3+3)type
type
stem
stem
stem
18th June 2010, hedgerow, Ulverston Canal, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Grows to 60cm high but unlike the similar Clustered Dock has straight stems which lack the slight zig-zaggedness of the latter. |
18th June 2010, hedgerow, Ulverston Canal, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
This specimen is actually in flower (rather than in fruit) the first Dock your Author has ever seen in flower. Unlike Clustered Dock the leaves stop well short of the top of the plant. |
18th June 2010, hedgerow, Ulverston Canal, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Flowers in well-spaced whorls, drooping downwards. |
18th June 2010, hedgerow, Ulverston Canal, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Several long, narrow cream-coloured anthers dangle. |
18th June 2010, hedgerow, Ulverston Canal, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
A winged leaf emerging from just below one of the flower whorls. |
18th June 2010, hedgerow, Ulverston Canal, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
There are actually 6 tepals, three outer ones and three inner ones (seen best in far right or far left flower). When the flowers are in fruit, the tepals refered to in identification texts are the inner tepals which cradle the fruit(s). The flowers themselves do not figure at all in any ID texts for Docks, it is mostly the shape and size of the (inner) tepals and fruit(s) (when in fruit only) and the jizz of the plant as well as the shape and sizes of the leaves. |
16th June 2010, woods, Bryn Euryn, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers not yet open. Leaves singly just beneath the flower whorl (there is an abherrant whorl with two leaves). The branches emerge at an angle between 15° - 25° (up to 45°) from the stem for Wood Dock, whereas it is between 30° - 90° for the very similar Clustered Dock) |
16th June 2010, woods, Bryn Euryn, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
Flowers not yet open. |
16th June 2010, woods, Bryn Euryn, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
Flowers still closed. |
16th June 2010, woods, Runcorn East, Cheshire. | Photo: © RWD |
Lower leaves with winged stems like most Docks. Stems ridged. |
16th June 2010, woods, Runcorn East, Cheshire. | Photo: © RWD |
16th June 2010, woods, Runcorn East, Cheshire. | Photo: © RWD |
Flower whorls still wrapped up in sheaths. Upper stems square. |
16th June 2010, woods, Runcorn East, Cheshire. | Photo: © RWD |
Basal rosette. |
16th June 2010, woods, Runcorn East, Cheshire. | Photo: © RWD |
Basal leaves are large and sagittate at the base with a green vein (in the common variety of Wood Dock var. viridus - there is a rare variety with a red vein called var. sanguineus). [Small deeply-toothed leaves of Small Nettle on left]. |
16th June 2010, woods, Runcorn East, Cheshire. | Photo: © RWD |
The stem leaves are also large with a winged stem but are not sagittate at the base. |
16th June 2010, woods, Runcorn East, Cheshire. | Photo: © RWD |
In fruit. Fruits small and white. |
16th June 2010, woods, Runcorn East, Cheshire. | Photo: © RWD |
Upper stems square. Wart oval, c. 1.3mm long. |
16th June 2010, woods, Runcorn East, Cheshire. | Photo: © RWD |
Only one of the three tepals has a large wart, the other two have either no wart or only a small poorly-developed wart (wheraeas Clustered Dock has a wart on each of the three tepals) Tepals un-toothed and 2-3mm long. |
Not to be semantically confused with : Easily mistaken for : Clustered Dock (Rumex conglomeratus) but that prefers frshwater margins, marshy grassland and other dampish places in the open. Other differences are shown in the photo captions.
Hybridizes with the similar : Clustered Dock (Rumex conglomeratus) to produce Although Docks do indeed have flowers they are seldom seen in real life and seldom mentioned or shown in identification books because the flowers themselves must have no unique identifying features apart from the shape of the tepals; unlike as with the fruits which come afterwards and last a lot longer than the flowers.
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sanguineus ![]() |
⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ |
Polygonaceae ![]() |
![]() Rumex (Docks) |
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