Tuesday 29 May 2012

Broad-leaved Dock

Seeds of Broad-leaved Dock, Rumex obtusifolius.  Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
Seeds of Broad-leaved Dock, Rumex obtusifolius.  Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
These amazing seeds are among the many sights that can only be seen by looking closely, sometimes with a lens.  They were on the dead flower-stems of a Dock plant, which showed this year's leaves at its base but had not yet put up this year's flowers.  These are typical of the Broad-leaved Dock, with spiked edges and large warts.  (The seeds are a good way to tell Docks apart.)  The whole plant looked like this:

Broad-leaved Dock, Rumex obtusifolius.  Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
Broad-leaved Dock, Rumex obtusifolius.  Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
As its name suggests, the leaves are broad, and they have heart-shaped (cordate) bases, another feature of this particular Dock.

1 comment:

  1. The dock photos are great. We have that in empty lots all over N America, but I never looked closely enough to see it properly. No wonder it sticks to socks and even to blue jeans so tenaciously.

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