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Rumex lanceolatus

Thunb.

Smaller dock

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(c) Erwin Sieben, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Erwin Sieben

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Jane Trembath, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

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Description

A herb. It is erect and grows 90 cm high. It is broad-leaved and keeps growing from year to year. The leaves are simple and alternate. They are broadly sword shaped. The flowers are in dense groups at the top of the plant. The flowers are small and 3-4 mm long. They are yellow. The fruit is an oval 3-sided nut. It is wrapped in the inner flower segments.

Edible Uses

The leaves are cooked and eaten with maize porridge.

Traditional Uses

The leaves are cooked and eaten with maize porridge.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in seasonally wet places where the dry season can be 6-11 months. It grows in hot arid regions. It grows between 85-2,800 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Asia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Central Africa, East Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe,

Other Information

Occasionally it is a cultivated food plant.

Notes

There are about 200 Rumex species.

Nutrition

PartMoisturekJkcalProteinVit AVit CIronZinc
Leaves82.8242584.69.72.4

Synonyms

Rumex ecklonianus Meisn.Rumex ecklonii Meisn.Rumex hydrolapathum C. H. WrightRumex linearis Campd.Rumex meyeri Meisn.Rumex meyerianus Meisn.

Also Known As

Dolonyana, Idololenkonyane, Kgamane, Tongblaar

References (10)

  • FAO, 1988, Traditional Food Plants, FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 42. FAO Rome p 433
  • Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 307
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 6th June 2011]
  • Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 91
  • Shaheen, N., et al, 2013, Food Composition Table for Bangladesh. University of Daka. p 33
Show all 10 references
  • van Wyk, Be., & Gericke, N., 2007, People's plants. A Guide to Useful Plants of Southern Africa. Briza. p 74
  • van Wyk, B-E., 2011, The potential of South African plants in the development of new food and beverage products. South African Journal of Botany 77 (2011) 857–868
  • Wehmeyer, A. S, 1986, Edible Wild Plants of Southern Africa. Data on the Nutrient Contents of over 300 species
  • Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179
  • World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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