Wiry Dock - native (Rumex dumosus)

Family: Polygonaceae (Dock, Persicaria family).

Native of Australia.

Occurrence: A widespread and fairly common dock on basalt and alluvial plains.

Identification:

• it is a wiry, much-branched dock
• it is a tumbleweed i.e. it breaks off at the base and the more or less ball-shaped plant is blown by wind
• the basal leaves are long stalked, with the leaf-stalk as long or longer than the leaf
• the leaves are mostly confined to the lower part of the plant; leaves along the flowering stems, if any, are small and are often withered at flowering time
• there are five or fewer flowers in each cluster
• the fruit are triangular and toothed and without a raised central swelling.

The wiry branched habit, the triangular fruit, and the (usually) leafless flower clusters are distinctive. Other docks with triangular, toothed fruit are sparsely branched.. Other much-branched docks have leafy flower clusters and rounded fruit.

Photos: Above R: Branch of Wiry Dock. The flower clusters are almost leafless, the fruit are triangular, and it is a much-branched dock. Castlemaine. Below: Close-up of flower clusters.