Rumex aquaticus
| Rumex aquaticus | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 6' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Rumex aquaticus (common name: red dock)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ.
Division in spring.
Cultivation: A plant of shallow water[1].
Range: Europe, including Britain but absent from Italy and the Balkans, to N. Asia.
Habitat: Shallow water at the margins of swamps[1]. Fields, meadows and ditches[2].
Edibility: Leaves - cooked[3].
Medicinal: The root is alterative, astringent, cholagogue, deobstruent, depurative, detergent, laxative and mildly tonic[4]. It can cause or relieve diarrhoea according to the dose, harvest time and relative concentrations of tannin(astringent) and anthraquinones (laxative) that are present[5]. It is used internally in the treatment of piles, bleeding of the lungs, various blood complaints and also chronic skin diseases[2][4]. Externally, it is applied to various skin diseases, ulcers etc[2].
The root has been used with positive effect to restrain the inroads made by cancer, being used as an alterative and tonic[2]. The root is harvested in early spring and dried for later use[2]. Some caution is advised in its use since excess doses can cause gastric disturbance, nausea and dermatitis[5][4].
Usage: Dark green to brown and dark grey dyes can be obtained from the roots of many species in this genus, They do not need a mordant[6].
The dried and powdered root has a cleansing and detergent affect on the teeth[2].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Plants can contain quite high levels of oxalic acid, which is what gives the leaves of many members of this genus an acid-lemon flavour. Perfectly alright in small quantities, the leaves should not be eaten in large amounts since the oxalic acid can lock-
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.