Rumex obtusifolius

Bitter dock

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Bitter dock is a naturalized perennial herb found in northern California coastal regions, the Great Valley, central coastal areas, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern coastal regions in moist places at elevations below 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces small greenish flowers in dense, interrupted whorls along branching stems. Growing 60 to 120 centimeters tall with generally branched stems, it develops a vertical taproot and spreads readily in disturbed areas. Its large leaves are widely ovate to oblong, 20 to 40 centimeters long with a heart-shaped base and entire margins, creating a distinctive broad-leafed appearance. The fruit is small, measuring 2 to 2.7 millimeters long and turning brown to red-brown when mature.

Habitat: Moist places

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: < 2000 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, n SN, GV, CCo, SnFrB, SCo, expected elsewhere

California counties: Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino, Sonoma, Del Norte, Riverside, Los Angeles, Humboldt, San Diego, Kern, Imperial, Mendocino, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Butte, Calaveras, Placer, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano, Trinity, Marin, Nevada, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Siskiyou, San Joaquin, Colusa, Sierra, Alpine, Alameda, Tuolumne, San Mateo, Monterey

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.