Clustered Dock - introduced (*Rumex conglomeratus)

Family: Polygonaceae (Dock and Persicaria family).

Native of Europe and south-west Asia.

Occurrence: Widespread. It has a preference for ditches and seasonally wet places. It is an environmental weed.

Identification:

• it is moderately branched with scattered leaves on the stems
• the leaves reduce in size up the stems
• the upper portion of the stems is usually leafless
• the flowers are in clusters
• there is a raised swelling at the base of each fruit; the swelling takes up about half of the length of the fruit
• the fruit are rounded at the base and do not have teeth.

Clustered Dock is suspected of causing oxalate poisoning in stock, and is a noxious weed in parts of Western Australia.

Similar species: The very common Curled Dock also has rounded fruit with a raised swelling. It is a more robust plant, with denser clusters of flowers, and has larger leaves.

Photo 1: Clustered dock. Barkers Creek. 2: Flower clusters. The fruit are rounded. 3: Basal leaves.
4,5: Clustered Dock. Forest Creek.