Rumex crispus
| Rumex crispus | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Fall |
| Meadows Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Rumex crispus (common name: curled dock)
Propagation: Seed - this plant does not require any help in its propagation.
Cultivation: Succeeds in most soils, preferring a moist moderately fertile well-drained soil in a sunny position[1]. The plant does not need any help in growing, it is doing very nicely in Britain where it is a serious weed of agriculture.
A very important food plant for the caterpillars of many species of butterfly[2].
Range: Most of Europe, including Britain, to N. Africa.
Habitat: Growing almost anywhere[3], it is found especially in grassy places, waste ground, roadsides and near sand dunes and is a serious weed of agriculture[4][5].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked[3][6][7]. They can also be dried for later use[8]. The leaves can be added to salads, cooked as a potherb or added to soups[9]. Only the very young leaves should be used, preferably before the stems have developed, and even these are likely to be bitter[8][10][11]. If used in early spring and in the autumn they can often be fairly pleasant tasting[6][7][K]. The leaves are very rich in vitamins and minerals, especially iron and the vitamins A and C[9][5]. A nutritional analysis is available[12].
Stems - raw or cooked[11]. They are best peeled and the inner portion eaten[11].
Seed - raw or cooked[13][11]. It can be used as a piñole or can be ground into a powder and used as a flour for making pancakes etc[6][14][9][11]. The seed is very fiddly to harvest and prepare[15].
The roasted seed has been used as a coffee substitute[16].
Medicinal: Curled dock has a long history of domestic herbal use. It is a gentle and safe laxative, less powerful than rhubarb in its action so it is particularly useful in the treatment of mild constipation[17]. The plant has valuable cleansing properties and is useful for treating a wide range of skin problems[17]. All parts of the plant can be used, though the root is most active medicinally.
The root is alterative, antiscorbutic, astringent, cholagogue, depurative, laxative and mildly tonic[18][19][20][21][22]. It used to be sold as a tonic and laxative[23]. It can cause or relieve diarrhoea according to the dose, harvest time and relative concentrations of tannin(astringent) and anthraquinones (laxative) that are present[24]. It is used internally in the treatment of constipation, diarrhoea, piles, bleeding of the lungs, various blood complaints and also chronic skin diseases[18][25][11]. Externally, the root can be mashed and used as a poultice and salve, or dried and used as a dusting powder, on sores, ulcers, wounds and various other skin problems[11].
The root has been used with positive effect to restrain the inroads made by cancer, being used as an alterative and tonic[18]. The root is harvested in early spring and dried for later use[18]. Some caution is advised in its use since excess doses can cause gastric disturbance, nausea and dermatitis[24][25].
The seed is used in the treatment of diarrhoea[18][12].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the fresh root, harvested in the autumn before frost has touched the plant[26]. It is only used in the treatment of a specific type of cough[26].
Usage: Yellow, dark green to brown and dark grey dyes can be obtained from the roots. They do not need a mordant[27].
An alternative ingredient of 'QR' herbal compost activator[28]. (is it the flowers?) This is a dried and powdered mixture of several herbs that can be added to a compost heap in order to speed up bacterial activity and thus shorten the time needed to make the compost[K].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Mid Fall
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-
Also Known As: R. elongatus.
Links
References
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Carter, David. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan, 1982.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mabey, Richard. Food for Free. Collins, 1974.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Phillips, Roger. Herbs. Pan Books, 1990.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Loewenfeld, Claire and Philippa Back. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ Kavasch, Barrie. Native Harvests. Vintage Books, 1979.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Sweet, Muriel. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co, 1962.
- ↑ Mills, Simon. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
- ↑ Davis, Ray and Frank Craighead. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. The Riverside Press, 1963.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Castro, Miranda. The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. Macmillan, 1990.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.
- ↑ Bruce, Maye. Commonsense Compost Making. Faber, 1977.