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You are viewing an archived site. The Chesapeake Bay Introduced Species Database project ended in 2020 and the database is no longer receiving updates. Learn more…
Image of Rumex conglomeratus

Rumex conglomeratus

Plants

Clustered Dock

Image Credit: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Description Taxonomy Invasion History Ecology Impacts References

Description

Potentially Misidentified Species - All are introduced except R. verticillatus (Swamp Dock). Rumex patientia (Patience Dock) has not been reported from intertidal habitats in Chesapeake Bay.


Taxonomy

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Plantae Magnoliophyta Magnoliopsida Polygonales Polygonaceae Rumex

Synonyms

Invasion History

Chesapeake Bay Status

First Record Population Range Introduction Residency Source Region Native Region Vectors
1901 Established Stable Introduced Boundary Resident Europe Eurasia Shipping(Dry Ballast), Agriculture(Agricultural Weed)

History of Spread

Rumex conglomeratus (Clustered Dock), a Eurasian native, is not among colonial herbarium specimens examined by Brown et al. (1987), and is not listed by Walter (1788) for the Carolinas or by Pursh (1814) for the Northeast U.S. However, Walter and Pursh recorded Rumex sanguineus, (still sporadic and rarely established), which is easily confused with this species (Morton 1989). Rumex conglomeratus was reported by Gray (1848): 'moist places, sparingly introduced', but was not listed in Chapman (1860) for the southeastern states. Small (1903) gives its range as VA to SC, as does Robinson and Fernald (1908). Fernald (1950) added 'local in OH, IN, MI, Pacific states'. Rumex conglomeratus is currently known from NJ to FL to MD and TX and in the west from British Columbia to AZ ( Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998). In Canada, this plant is limited to southern Ontario (1st record 1964) and British Columbia (1st record 1903). Its introduced range appears to be generally limited by -1 C January isotherm (Morton 1989).

Rumex conglomeratus is not listed in Washington D.C.-Baltimore floras (Brereton 1830; Aikin 1837; Ward 1881; Hitchcock and Standley 1919), but has been reported for VA by Small (1903). Erlanson (1925) found it in a brackish marsh on Queens Creek, near Williamsburg. It now occurs in most eastern VA counties, including 22 of ~30 tidewater counties. This plant is known from 'beach berms' along the Potomac in King George County VA (Simmons et al. 1995), and from 'waste places' and tidal marshes in VA (Wass 1972). However, it is apparently absent from MD, and is not listed in Shreve et al. (1910) or Brown and Brown (1984).

History References- Brown and Brown 1984; Chapman 1860; Erlanson 1924; Fernald 1950; Gray 1848; Harvill et al. 1992; Morton 1989; Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998; Pursh 1814; Robinson and Fernald 1908; Small 1903; Walter 1788; Wass 1972

Invasion Comments

Ecology

Environmental Tolerances

For SurvivalFor Reproduction
Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
Temperature (ºC)
Salinity (‰) 0.0 0.0
Oxygen
pH
Salinity Range fresh-meso

Age and Growth

Male Female
Minimum Adult Size (mm)
Typical Adult Size (mm)
Maximum Adult Size (mm)
Maximum Longevity (yrs)
Typical Longevity (yrs

Reproduction

Start Peak End
Reproductive Season
Typical Number of Young
Per Reproductive Event
Sexuality Mode(s)
Mode(s) of Asexual
Reproduction
Fertilization Type(s)
More than One Reproduction
Event per Year
Reproductive Startegy
Egg/Seed Form

Impacts

Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay

Rumex conglomeratus (Clustered Dock) appears to be too uncommon in Chesapeake Bay tidal wetlands to have significant economic impacts (Wass 1972).

References- Wass 1972


Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay

Rumex conglomeratus (Clustered Dock) is not abundant in North America (Gleason and Cronquist 1991; Morton 1989), and probably is not an important weed.

References- Gleason and Cronquist 1991; Morton 1989


Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species

Rumex conglomeratus (Clustered Dock) appears to be too uncommon in Chesapeake Bay tidal wetlands to have significant impacts on native biota.


Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species

Rumex conglomeratus (Clustered Dock) appears to be too uncommon in Chesapeake Bay tidal wetlands to have significant impacts on other exotic biota.


References

Brown, Melvin L.; Brown, Russell G. (1984) Herbaceous Plants of Maryland, , College Park. Pp.

Chapman, A. W. (1860) Flora of the southern United States, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.

Erlanson, Eileen (1924) The flora of the Peninsula of Virginia, Papers of the Michigan Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters 4: 115-182

Fernald, Merritt L. (1950) Gray's Manual of Botany, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.

Gleason, Henry A. (1963) The new Britton and Brown illustrated flora of the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.

Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur (1991) Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , Bronx, New York. Pp.

Gray, Asa (1848) A manual of botany of the northern United States., In: (Eds.) . , Boston. Pp.

Harvill, A. M.; Bradley, Ted R.; Stevens, Charles E.; Wieboldt, Thomas F.; Ware, Donna M. E.; Ogle, Douglas W.; Ramsey, Gwynn W.; Fleming, Gary P. (1992) Atlas of the Virginia Flora, , Burkeville, VA. Pp.

Kartesz, John T. (1994) A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland., In: (Eds.) . , Portland OR. Pp.

Morton, J. K. (1989) The clustered dock, Rumex conglomeratus (Polygonaceae), in Canada, The Canadian Field-Naturalist 103: 86-88

1997-2024 USDA PLANTS Database.. Onine databse

Pursh, Frederick (1814) Flora Americae Septentrionalis or, a Systematic Arrangement and Description of the Plants of North America, , Hirschburg. Pp.

Resource Management Inc. (1993) National list of plant species that occur in wetlands., , Minneapolis.. Pp.

Robinson, Benjamin Lincoln; Fernald, Merrit L. (1908) Gray's New Manual of Botany., , New York. Pp.

Simmons, Mark P.; Ware, Donna M.; Hayden, W. John (1995) The vascular flora of the Potomac River watershed of King George County, Virginia, Castanea 60: 179-209

Small, John K. (1903) Flora of the southeastern United States., , New York. Pp.

Walter, Thomas (1788) Flora Caroliniana, , London. Pp.

Wass, Melvin L. (1972) A checklist of the biota of lower Chesapeake Bay, Special Scientific Report, Virginia Institute of Marine Science 65: 1-290


Direct questions and comments to chesnemo@si.edu.

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