Rumex pulcher L., Polygonaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 16 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: fiddle dock, red dock

French: parelle violon, patience violon, rumex violon

Spanish: acedera de hojas, mollerosa, partidas, romaza común, romaza silvestre, romaza violín

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Lower leaves small, somewhat crisped marginally, cordate at the base, often pubescent; branches of the panicle very divergent, often intricate in fruit; flower verticels partly with leaves, all remote; pedicels thick, not longer than the fruit, jointed at the middle; valves toothed, 4.5-6 mm long, 2.5-4.5 mm wide, usually all bearing a grain, but the grains often unequal in size; achenes 3-4 mm long, broadest a little below the middle."  (Standley, 1937; 13(2/2):449).

Habitat/ecology:  In Western Australia, "a common weed of pastures, waterways and wasteland" (Hussey et al., 1997). In New Zealand, "pastures, waste places, roadsides, railway yards and other habitats near settlements" (Webb et al., 1988; p. 985).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Mediterranean Basin (Standley, 1937; 13(2/2):449).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 96)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 118) Voucher cited: MacKee 15724

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 311)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 311)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 311)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 985)

Additional information:  Additional online information about Rumex pulcher is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Rumex pulcher may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias. 1988. Dicot weeds, vol. 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 335 pp.

Hussey, B. M. J./Keighery, G. J./Cousens, R.D./Dodd, J./Lloyd, S. G. 1997. Western weeds, a guide to the weeds of Western Australia. Plant Protection Society of Western Australia.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Macbride, J. Francis. 1936. Flora of Peru. Field Museum of Natural History, Botanical Series, Vol. XIII. 1936-1971, 6 parts.

Standley, Paul C. 1937. Flora of Costa Rica. Field Museum of Natural History, Botanical Series. 1571 pp. .

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.