Rumex violascens
Mexican dock
Family: Polygonaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Rumex violascens (Mexican dock) is a native California herb in the Polygonaceae family, recognized by . Geographic restriction and small marginal teeth distinctive.
Mexican dock is a California native perennial found in the Deltaic Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley, southern coastal, and western desert regions along wet places near streams and rivers at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from March to August, this plant produces small greenish to reddish flowers in interrupted whorls with branches bent at the nodes. Growing 2.5 to 7.5 decimeters tall with a stout, branched stem, it appears robust and somewhat woody. Its leaves are distinctively oblanceolate to elliptic, 6 to 12 centimeters long with entire margins, featuring a widely tapered base and obtuse tip. The fruit develops as a small brown to red-brown structure with three unequal ovoid tubercles, each about one-third the size of the perianth lobe.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 13 sympatric species. Geographic restriction and small marginal teeth distinctive.
Habitat and range
Habitat: Uncommon. Wet places along streams, rivers
Elevation: < 1000 m
Outside California: to Texas, Mexico, also Massachusetts
Bloom period
Rumex violascens blooms Mar-Aug.
How to tell it apart
vs Anemopsis: Rumex has dense flower clusters; Anemopsis has a single white cone-like flower head.; vs Amaranthus: Rumex has papery three-winged fruits; Amaranthus has small round seeds with papery covers.; vs Plantago: Rumex has branching flower clusters; Plantago has flowers in dense cylindrical spikes.; vs Eriogonum: Rumex has large broad leaves; Eriogonum typically has small basal leaf rosettes or mats.; vs Limonium: Rumex has green to reddish flower clusters; Limonium has papery purple or pink flowers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Rumex violascens native to California?
Yes. Rumex violascens is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Rumex violascens bloom?
Rumex violascens blooms Mar-Aug.
What plant family does Rumex violascens belong to?
Rumex violascens is in the Polygonaceae family, genus Rumex.
What habitat does Rumex violascens grow in?
Rumex violascens grows in Uncommon. Wet places along streams, rivers.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Rumex acetosella — Sheep sorrel
- Rumex britannica — Pale dock
- Rumex californicus — California dock
- Rumex conglomeratus — Clustered dock
- Rumex crassus — Willow leaved dock
- Rumex crispus — Curly dock
- Sidotheca caryophylloides — Chickweed oxytheca
- Sidotheca emarginata — White-margined oxytheca
- Sidotheca sp. — Starry puncturebract
- Sidotheca trilobata — Three-lobed starry puncturebract
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.