Text and Photos by Janice Tucker

November 2009
Curly dock
(Rumex crispus)

Family: Buckwheat (Polygonaceae)
Common names: Curly dock; Yellow dock; Lengua de vaca (Spanish)

From mid-August until a killing frost, visitors to Santa Fe Botanical Garden’s Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve may notice a medium to tall, beautiful, dark reddish-brown plant growing in the riparian area among Marsh aster, Small-flowered gaura, Swamp verbena, Western yarrow, Cattails, Willow herb and Burdock. This striking plant with its dense flower spikes is known, among other names, as Curly dock.

Curly dock, also called Yellow dock, is a native of Eurasia but is commonly found in wet areas throughout North America as well as many other parts of the world. It is a robust perennial with a long taproot, growing between two to six feet in height. Its reddish, ridged erect stems are un-branched with hairless, wavy-margined elongated leaves mostly found at the plant base. Six-petaled, tiny flowers grow atop the stems in dense clustered spikes. In June, new flowers are red and green, turning to a rich, dark reddish-brown from August through frost. Individual seeds are encased in a corky winged structure, which facilitates distribution by wind and water.

Although Curly dock is sometimes considered invasive and can crop up in disturbed areas, wetlands and near the edges of ponds and lakes, it does have a good side. In earlier times, leaves were used to wrap and conserve butter. In the spring, young leaves were eaten as greens, but older leaves were left on the plant because its oxalic acid and tannin properties render a bitter taste. Native Americans used the dried roots for digestive problems. Presently, there are homeopathic products that offer the Curly dock as a remedy for a variety of ailments. Some species of Rumex are cultivated for their acidic taste and grown in pots or herb gardens.

Its botanical name is fairly straightforward. Rumex is the Latin word for this plant’s family name, Polygonaceae. Polygonaceae is Greek for many seeds or many swollen joints of the stems. Crispus means finely waved or tightly curled. Spanish New Mexicans dubbed this plant lengua de vaca (cow’s tongue) because they thought the shape of its leaves resembled the tongue of a cow.

In her book, Healing Herbs of the Upper Rio Grande, Leonora Scott Muse Curtin wrote, “It is odd that lengua de vaca has never had much traditional use in our area. Under the name of yellow dock it is a widely used North American herbal remedy, but as lengua de vaca it is considered, if anything, a mildly toxic herb. … Oh well, no culture is perfect.” Sometimes, it’s all in a name. After all, yellow dock or curly dock sounds much more benign than cow’s tongue!