"Veiny dock "

Description

Rumex venosus is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by the common names veiny dock, winged dock, sand dock, and wild-begonia (though it is not related to the genus Begonia). While not of any particular agricultural use, its cousins rhubarb and buckwheat are. It is native to central and western North America, from southern parts of the Canadian prairies, through to Mexico. It can be found in many types of habitat, including sagebrush, dunes, and other sandy areas. It is commonly found in heavily grazed pastures as livestock tend to avoid it, allowing veiny dock to spread uninhibited. It is a common food plant of the ruddy copper butterfly It is a perennial herb producing decumbent, spreading, or upright stem 4 to 20 centimetres (1+1⁄2 to 8 in) tall, usually with a few branches. It grows from a creeping rhizome. The light green leaves are veiny (lending the species its name), lance-shaped to oval with smooth or wrinkled edges, and grow 2–15 cm (3⁄4–6 in) long and 1–5 cm (1⁄2–2 in) wide. Each leaf has a papery, sheath-like stipule above it. The inflorescence grows as either an axillary or terminal panicle and is densely flowered. The flowers themselves are not showy, being green and inconspicuous. They have 6 reddish sepals, 6 stamen, and 1 pistil. The bright, pink colour of the flowers comes from the inner sepals of each flower when the fruit matures.The sepals enlarge to about 3 mm (1⁄8 in) long and 1.5 cm across, turning quite veiny, and surround the achene. The plant flowers from mid-spring to mid-summer.