Wood Dock

In var sanguineus (red-veined or bloody dock) the leaf veins are bright red, and in var viridis (wood dock) the whole leaf is green. The leaf blade is lanceolate with a more or less pointed tip, and averages 10 to 30 cm (3.9 to 11.8 in) long by 2.5 to 6 cm (0.98 to 2.36 in) wide. Rumex sanguineus grows in shaded or damp habitats, and flowers in summer. The inflorescence occupies the upper two thirds of the stem. The inflorescence is lax, interrupted, and broadly paniculate. There are normally ten to twenty flowers in each well-spaced whorl. The achenes are dark reddish brown to almost black. The red-veined form is very distinctive. The green form is distinguished from the very similar Rumex conglomeratus by a more slender and erect habit.

Rumex sanguineus is common in most of Europe south of about 60 degrees north, but not in Russia and rarely in the Mediterranean. It inhabits damp, shady places, especially in woodland. It is an agricultural weed that can be found in the vegetation surrounding arable fields. Rumex sanguineus is not native to North America with most reports of Rumex sanguineus being confused with R. conglomeratus or immature R. obtusifolius.