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Rumex occidentalis
Also called Water Dock, Windowed Dock
Rumex occidentalis is a flowering plant species belonging to the family Polygonaceae. Commonly known as western dock, Rumex occidentalis can be found in parts of Western North America.
Western dock is native to North America and can be found in Western states such as California, Nevada, and Idaho. It has also been found historically in Washington state. It typically flowers during the late spring and summer months. Western docks need moist environments to thrive and are typically found in marshes, bogs, wet meadows, and other shallow water habitats.
Western dock holds both nutritional and medicinal values. Medicinally, its leaves are used in herbal sweat baths to treat rheumatic pains. The leaves can also be poulticed into a root paste and used to treat open wounds, cuts, and boils. Nutritionally, the leaves, stems, and seeds are all edible. The young leaves of the western dock are cooked and used similarly to spinach. The stems are also cooked but used as rhubarb. The seeds can be consumed raw or cooked and are typically ground into a powder for seasoning or gruel. Consuming western dock in large amounts or uncooked is not advised due to the possibly high oxalic acid levels present in the leaves.
Abyssinian Dock · Sorrel · Sheep's Sorrel · Munk's rhubarb · Pale dock · Rumex andinus · Scottish Dock · Arctic dock · Azorean Dock · Bering Sea dock · Pale dock · Hooked Dock
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rumex occidentalis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
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.
