Weeds used in medicine

Chapter 18: Yellow-rooted Water Dock. Rumex britannica L.

Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

Drugs/Alcohol/Pharmacology Health & Medicine How To ...Science - Earth/Agricultural/Farming

About This Book

A practical handbook for farmers and collectors describing how common field weeds may be gathered, prepared, and cured for use as crude medicinal drugs. It explains proper seasons and techniques for digging roots and harvesting barks, leaves, flowers, and seeds; cleaning, drying, slicing, and storage methods; and precautions to prevent mold, contamination, and misidentification. The main portion offers concise botanical descriptions, uses, and preparation tips for many familiar species—such as burdock, dandelion, docks, couch grass, pokeweed, foxglove, mullein, lobelia, tansy, yarrow, jimson weed, poison hemlock, and mustards—supported by illustrations and practical advice on handling and marketing small lots.

Yellow-rooted Water Dock.
Rumex britannica L.

Fig. 8.—Yellow dock root.

Habitat and range.—As the common name indicates, this plant frequents swampy and wet places and banks of streams. It is found from Canada to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and westward to Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa.

Description.—The yellow-rooted water dock is a taller plant than either of the docks previously mentioned, its stout stem sometimes reaching a height of 6 feet. The leaves at the base of the plant are borne on long stalks, and are from 1 to 2 feet in length, but, as with the other two species, the leaves toward the top of the plant are shorter, as are also the stalks supporting them. The densely flowered clusters are not as leafy as in the preceding species mentioned. The plant flowers from July to August.