Golden Dock

Golden Dock - Rumex maritimus

Description

Low to short erect plant which is golden yellow in fruit.

Similar Species

Rumex palustris has been recorded in VC55

Identification difficulty
ID checklist (your specimen should have all of these features)

Tubercles yellow, valves with fine slender teeth

Recording advice

The fruits have a central part, triangular in cross-section, with three membraneous valves surrounding a small, hard 'tubercle'.  The shape and arrangement of valves and tubercles is diagnostic, and close-up photos of fruits and leaves/general habit is needed.

Habitat

Only found in wetland habitats such as pond and reservoir margins, and with a preference for bare, muddy ground e.g in the draw-down zone of reservoirs.

When to see it

Flowering June to early October.

Life History

Annual.

UK Status

Widespread though rather local in England, fewer records from elsewhere in Britain.

VC55 Status

Near scarce in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the Flora of Leicestershire (Primavesi and Evans 1988) it was found in 18 of the 617 tetrads.

In the VC55 Checklist (Jeeves, 2011) it is listed as Native; scarce, but apparently spreading. 

It was on the 2011 VC55 Rare Plant Register (Jeeves, 2011) but just misses the criteria for the current RPR (Hall and Woodward, 2022)

Further Information

http://www.kenadams.org.uk/esb/Docks.htm

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Additional images

All NatureSpot records