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Rumex
Also called Docks, Sorrels, Sorrel, Dock, Sorrel, Docks And Sorrels
Docks and sorrels are a genus of about 200 annual, biennial and perennial herbs, mostly weeds of temperate and subtropical regions. The commonly grown members are the sorrels, which are cultivated for their acidic leaves, and the key to growing them is a sunny spot with ordinary soil.
The docks and sorrels, genus Rumex, are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Members of this genus are common perennial herbs with a worldwide native distribution in temperate and subtropical climates.
Some are nuisance weeds (and are sometimes called dockweed or dock weed), but some are grown for their edible leaves. Rumex species are used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species, and are the only host plants of the butterflies Lycaena dispar and Lycaena rubidus.
Broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius) used to be called butter dock because its large leaves were used to wrap and conserve butter.
Sorrel · Sheep's Sorrel · Curled Dock · Toothed dock · Cape spinach · Broad-leaved Dock · Patience Dock · Fiddle Dock · Garden Sorrel · Rambling dock · Willow dock · French sorrel
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rumex by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
