ILLINOIS PLANT INFORMATION NETWORK
 
 ILPIN INFORMATION ON    Rumex mexicanus
 
 
 CLASS:    DICOTYLEDENAE
 ORDER:    POLYGONALES
 FAMILY:   POLYGONACEAE
 SCIENTIFIC NAME:  Rumex mexicanus
 AUTHORITY:  Meish.
 
 COMMON NAMES:
    DOCK
    MEXICAN DOCK
 
 SYNONOMY:   None
 
 PLANTS CODE: RUME2
 
 NATURAL COMMUNITIES:
     WETLAND
       SWAMP
       BORDER OF LAKE
     CULTURAL
       DEVELOPED LAND
 
 
 SAF FOREST COVER TYPE:
     NO
 
 NATURAL DIVISION:  UNAVAILABLE
 
 COUNTIES:
   ADAMS           ALEXANDER       BOND            BOONE           CASS
   CHAMPAIGN       CHRISTIAN       COOK            DEKALB          DUPAGE
   FAYETTE         FORD            GRUNDY          HANCOCK         IROQUOIS
   JACKSON         JEFFERSON       JO DAVIESS      KANE            KANKAKEE
   KENDALL         LAKE            LOGAN           MCDONOUGH       MCHENRY
   MADISON         MARION          MASSAC          MONTGOMERY      OGLE
   PEORIA          POPE            PULASKI         RICHLAND        ST. CLAIR
   SANGAMON        SCHUYLER        UNION           WASHINGTON      WHITESIDE
   WILL            WINNEBAGO
 
 GROWTH FORM:  Dicot-herb
 
 TAXONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS:
    LEAF TYPE:   Simple
    LEAF MARGIN:   Entire
    LEAF VENATION:  Pinnate
    LEAF SHAPE:     Oblong   Lanceolate
    INFLORESCENCE:   Panicle  Raceme
    FLOWER MEROUS:  3
    FLOWER STRUCTURE:   Incomplete  (no petals)   Regular
    FLOWER COLOR:   Red   Green
    FLOWER PLACEMENT:  Hypogynous
    FRUIT:   Achene
 
 GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:
     ORIGIN:   Native
 
 POPULATION DYNAMICS:
     STATE STATUS: Not listed
     FEDERAL STATUS: Not listed
     COMMONNESS:  Occasional
     ENDEMIC:   NOT-ENDEMIC
 
 BIOLOGIC:
     HABIT:   Forb
     LIFE CYCLE:   Perennial
     REPRODUCTION:   Sexual
     FLOWERING PERIOD:
         MONTH BEGINNING-      7         MONTH END-      9
     TROPHIC STATUS:  Autotrophic
 
 ECODISTRIBUTION COMMENTS:
     Often brackish or saline soils. Borders of swamps and sloughs, also in drier,
     higher, weedy ground and along railroads, more frequent than Rumex altissimus in
     industrial areas.
 
 ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS:
     GROWTH OF SPECIES IN VARIOUS CONDITIONS:  No data entered
 
     HABITAT:   Moist
 
 FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS:
     MAJOR POLLINATION AGENT:   Wind
 
 HUMAN RELATIONSHIP DATA:
     EDIBLE:  Yes
 
     WILD HERBS:   Culinary-flavor
 
 HUMAN FACTOR COMMENTS:
     Young leafy shoots eaten as cooked vegetables.  Possible dangerous levels of
     oxalates and nitrates.  Possible use as salad, puree, seasoning, rennet,
     masticatory and acid drink.
 
 WILDLIFE AND LIVESTOCK INFORMATION:   No data entered
 
 LIVESTOCK COMMENTS:
     Possible dangerous levels of oxalates and nitrates.  Can cause possible off
     flavor in milk.
 
 REVEGETATION PLANTINGS:    No data entered
 
 
 REFERENCES:
Mohlenbrock, R. H., ed.  1975.  Guide to the vascular flora of Illinois.
     Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.  494 pp.
Steyermark, J. A.  1963.  Flora of Missouri.  Iowa State University Press, Ames.
     1725 pp.
Swink, F., and G. S. Wilhelm.  1979.  Plants of the Chicago region.  Third ed.
     The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois.  922 pp.
Gleason, H. A.  1952.  The new Britton and Brown illustrated flora of the
     northeastern United States and adjacent Canada.  3 vols.  The New York
     Botanical Garden, New York.
Kingsbury, J. M.  1964.  Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada.
     Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.  626 pp.
Fernald, M. L., A. C. Kinsey, and R. C. Rollins.  1958.  Edible wild plants of
     eastern North America.  Harper and Brothers, New York.  452 pp.
Wodehouse, R. P.  1971.  Hayfever plants.  Hafner Publishing Company, New
     York.  280 pp.
 
 OTHER REFERENCES:
     Muenscher, W.C. 1975.  Poisonous Plants of the United States.
 
 END OF DATA FOR SPECIES  Rumex mexicanus
 
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 ILPIN was developed by Louis Iverson*, with data compiled by David Ketzner and Jeanne Karnes
 Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign, IL 61820
     *currently employed by USDA Forest Service, 359 Main Rd., Delaware, OH 43015