Curled Dock (Rumex crispus)
© Harry Rose
Introduced, cool-season, perennial, erect herb, to 1.5 m tall. Leaves are waxy and up to 40 cm long, often with wavy edges. Flowerheads have dense whorls of flowers along mostly leafless stems. Fruits are 3-6 mm long, with a central egg-shaped lump and smooth margins. Flowering is in spring and early summer. A native of Europe and south-western Asia, it is a common weed of pastures, cropping and roadsides. It occurs on a wide range of fertile moist soils. A competitive plant that can occur in dense stands; more a problem in autumn sown pastures/crops such as ryegrass or oats or after autumn floods. Commonly used in herbal medicine for a variety of complaints. Generally unpalatable, but grazed by stock (not horses) when green feed is scarce. Suspected of causing oxalate poisoning in cattle, although large quantities would need to be consumed. Seedlings require bare ground for germination and are very sensitive to competition, so maintaining dense vigorous pastures, especially from autumn to spring, can be an effective control. Can also be controlled with spot spraying, digging up or cultivation to at least 20 cm deep.
Photo taken on 31 Aug 2014