The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Rumex crispus
Also called Curly Dock, Yellow Dock, Sour Dock, Curly Leaved Dock, Narrowleaf Dock, Indian Tobacco, Narrow Leaved Dock
Curled dock is a perennial weed-like herb with wavy-edged leaves from a basal rosette and a large yellow taproot, native to temperate Eurasia and widespread elsewhere. It spreads readily by seed, so it is usually managed as a weed rather than grown on purpose.
Rumex crispus, the curly dock, curled dock or yellow dock, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to Europe and Western Asia.
Native across temperate Eurasia, and widespread as an introduced species in North America and other temperate regions.
It can be used as a wild leaf vegetable; the young leaves should be boiled in several changes of water to remove as much of the oxalic acid in the leaves as possible or can be added directly to salads in moderate amounts. Once the plant matures it becomes too bitter to consume. Dock leaves are an excellent source of both vitamin A and vitamin C, as well as a source of iron and potassium. Curly dock leaves are somewhat tart due to the presence of high levels of oxalic acid, and although quite palatable, this plant should only be consumed in moderation as it can irritate the urinary tract and increase the risk of developing kidney stones. It should be used with care during lactation, as it may cause a laxative effect in the infant.
Sorrel · Sheep's Sorrel · Toothed dock · Cape spinach · Broad-leaved Dock · Patience Dock · Fiddle Dock · Garden Sorrel · Rambling dock · Willow dock · French sorrel · Dock
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rumex crispus 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
