Seasonal Wild Flowers

Curled Dock

Rumex crispus

Polygonaceae

May to October

It is found throughout the country.

See the BSBI distribution map for Curled Dock

It grows in rough grassland, wasteland, beside roads

and on the coast.

Curled Dock is a native, annual or short-lived, perennial

herb, growing to over 1m.

Flowers are are in whorls and small with triangular tepals,

There are 6 stamens.

Fruits are round-ovate (entire without teeth) with oval

warts.One wart is usually bigger than the other two.

In the sea shore sub species there can be 3 warts per nut,

one on each face of the triangle.

Leaves are up to 25 cm long, broadly lanceolate, wavy and

crisped.

Upper leaves are lanceolate and smaller.

Curled Dock hybridises readily with Broad-leaved Dock,

seemingly to make identification even more difficult.

Curled Dock, Chesil Beach, Dorset

Close-up of flowers - 3 tepals and 6 stamens

Developing fruits

Warts

Fruits showing the triangular structure

Pink form

Wavy, basal leaves

Close-up of curled leaf