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NAME: Bitter Dock

SPECIES / FAMILY:  Rumex Obtusifolius / Polygonaceae (Rumex)

OTHER COMMON NAME(S):  Round-leaf dock

CONDITIONS: full sun to partial shade, moist to well-drained soil
 

PARTS:	EDIBLE	TASTE	RAW/COOK	SEASON
All
Shoots		lemony	COOK	Late Spring-Fall
Leaves		lemony	COOK	Late Spring-Fall
Buds/Flowers
Fruits
Roots
Seeds				Summer-Fall
Nuts
Pods
Stalk
Bark

PORTION: moderate

COMMENT: When cooked it is delicious. Seeds can be used as a spice. (3)  * In this editor's opinion, Patience Dock is the best dock for eating raw, but not-so-much cooked, while Bitter-Round Leaf Dock and Curly Yellow Dock are best eaten cooked, but not-so-much- raw.

To remove this outer shell, toast the seeds to make the shell brittle, then "grind" them between the palms of your hands to shatter the shell off the seeds. Take this shell/seed mixture and go outside during a light wind and pour the mix back and forth between two bowls, allowing the wind to blow away the lighter shell material. This is called winnowing. The seeds can be roasted then eaten as a snack or ground into flour, boiled into porridge, added to bread, etc... Really, their use is limited only by your imagination! They add a nutty, quinoa type flavor to soups and stews. https://www.foragingtexas.com/2008/08/dock.html

CAUTION: Cook with lid off to minimize oxalic acid, as with spinach.

NUTRITION/MEDICINAL:  Astringent;  Blood purifier;  Contraceptive;  Salve. (1, 4)

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumex
• https://draxe.com/sorrel
• https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/d/docks-15.html

LOOK-A-LIKES:  other docks, young corn

POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES: 

OTHER USES: “dark green to brown and dark grey dyes can be obtained from the roots of many species in this genus. They do not need a mordant.” Also used for caterpillar food (1)

SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):

1. https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Rumex+obtusifolius  

2. http://www.eattheweeds.com/rumex-ruminations/

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumex_obtusifolius

4. http://www.foragingtexas.com/2008/08/dock.html  (good photos)

5. http://returntonature.us/stalking-the-curly-dock-rumex-crispus

6. https://www.survival-manual.com/edible-plants/wild-dock.php

7. http://identifythatplant.com/what-is-yellow-dock/bitter-dock  

8. https://www.ediblewildfood.com/bitter-dock.aspx

9. https://honest-food.net/curly-dock-edible

10. https://www.ediblewildfood.com/belgium-wild-beer.aspx

11. https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/dock-rice-feta-seaweed-parcels

12. https://www.thespruceeats.com/everything-to-know-dock-rumex-species-3984477