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  1. Family: Polygonaceae Juss.

    1. Rumex L.

        2. This genus is accepted, and is native to Europe, Asia-Tropical, Africa, Antarctic, Hawaii, Southern America, Northern America, Australasia and Asia-Temperate..

    [FZ]

    Flora Zambesiaca. Vol. 9, Part 3. Polygonaceae-Myriaceae. Pope GV, Polhill RM, Martins ES. 2006.

    Leaves
    Leaves alternate Leaves alternate.
    Ocrea
    Ocrea membranous, entire or lacerate Ocrea membranous, entire or lacerate.
    Flowers
    Flowers hermaphrodite or unisexual, pedicellate, arranged in whorls borne in racemes or panicles Flowers hermaphrodite or unisexual, pedicellate, arranged in whorls borne in racemes or panicles.
    Perianth
    Perianth 6-merous, in 2 whorls of 3; outer perianth segments small and thin; inner segments accrescent, becoming enlarged and usually hardened in fruit, ovate or triangular, often reticulate-veined, with the margin entire, wavy or toothed, with or without dorsal tubercles on the midrib near the base Perianth 6-merous, in 2 whorls of 3; outer perianth segments small and thin; inner segments accrescent, becoming enlarged and usually hardened in fruit, ovate or triangular, often reticulate-veined, with the margin entire, wavy or toothed, with or without dorsal tubercles on the midrib near the base.
    Stamens
    Stamens 6, in 2 whorls of 3; anthers basifixed Stamens 6, in 2 whorls of 3; anthers basifixed.
    Ovary
    Ovary trigonous; styles 3; stigmas 3, penicillate or fimbriate
    Fruits
    Nut sharply trigonous, with a woody pericarp, surrounded by the inner accrescent perianth segments. Nut sharply trigonous, with a woody pericarp, surrounded by the inner accrescent perianth segments.
    Distribution
    A genus of c. 200 species. Cosmopolitan but mainly in temperate regions, with c. 20 species in southern Africa including several introduced.
    Habit
    Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, more rarely shrubs, climbing or not, usually with long stout taproots, sometimes rhizomatous. Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, more rarely shrubs, climbing or not, usually with long stout taproots, sometimes rhizomatous
    Pistil
    Ovary trigonous; styles 3; stigmas 3, penicillate or fimbriate.
    [FTEA]

    Polygonaceae, R. A. Graham. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1958

    Habit
    Hermaphrodite or dioecious, usually glabrous herbs, often stout
    Bracteoles
    Bracteoles 1 or 0
    Tepal
    Tepals 6, in two series of 3; the outer small, non-accrescent; the inner accrescent, erect, circular, ovate or triangular with the margin entire, wavy or toothed, sometimes winged, and the midrib sometimes swollen to produce a wart-like tubercle
    Stamens
    Stamens 6, inserted at the base of the perianth
    Fruits
    Nuts trigonous, enclosed within the inner tepals
    Pistil
    Styles 3; stigmas penicillate or fimbriate.
    [FZ]

    Flora Zambesiaca. Vol. 9, Part 3. Polygonaceae-Myriaceae. Pope GV, Polhill RM, Martins ES. 2006.

    Ocrea
    Ocrea membranous, caducous Ocrea membranous, caducous.
    Flowers
    Flowers unisexual, the male flowers pedicellate, in terminal and axillary pedunculate clusters, with the female flowers sessile in the axils below, or sometimes in compound inflorescences with suppressed leaves, male flowers above, female below Female flowers urceolate, with an accrescent ovoid tube; perianth segments 2-seriate, accrescent, the inner erect, the outer indurate in fruit with very hard ± spreading spines at the tips; styles 3, dilated and fimbriate at the tip Male flowers: perianth segments 5–6, subequal, free nearly to the base, spreading; stamens 4–6. Male flowers: perianth segments 5–6, subequal, free nearly to the base, spreading; stamens 4–6 Female flowers urceolate, with an accrescent ovoid tube; perianth segments 2-seriate, accrescent, the inner erect, the outer indurate in fruit with very hard ± spreading spines at the tips; styles 3, dilated and fimbriate at the tip. Flowers unisexual, the male flowers pedicellate, in terminal and axillary pedunculate clusters, with the female flowers sessile in the axils below, or sometimes in compound inflorescences with suppressed leaves, male flowers above, female below.
    Distribution
    A genus of 2 species, one in the Mediterranean region and one in South Africa and Namibia. The latter introduced into East Africa, Madagascar, Australasia and U.S.A. (Florida, California and Hawaii).
    Habit
    Rigid monoecious annual or perennial herbs. Rigid monoecious annual or perennial herbs
    Stem
    Stems erect or spreading, much branched, furrowed. Stems erect or spreading, much branched, furrowed
    Leaves
    Leaves alternate, petiolate. Leaves alternate, petiolate
    Fruits
    Nut acutely trigonous, free and included in the hardened fruiting perianth. Nut acutely trigonous, free and included in the hardened fruiting perianth.
    [FTEA]

    Polygonaceae, R. A. Graham. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1958

    Habit
    Monoecious herbs, probably annual
    Flowers
    Male flowers with 5–6 tepals, free nearly to the base, spreading, subequal Female flowers urceolate, with an accrescent, ovoid tube; tepals 6, arranged in two series, the inner 3 accrescent and erect, the outer 3 accrescent, conjoined, and forming very hard, ± spreading spines at the tips
    Male
    Male flowers with 5–6 tepals, free nearly to the base, spreading, subequal
    Stamens
    Stamens 4–6
    Female
    Female flowers urceolate, with an accrescent, ovoid tube; tepals 6, arranged in two series, the inner 3 accrescent and erect, the outer 3 accrescent, conjoined, and forming very hard, ± spreading spines at the tips
    Style
    Styles 3, terminally dilated and fimbriate
    Fruits
    Nut acutely trigonous, free within the hardened fruiting perianth.

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    Distribution

    Native to:

    Afghanistan, Alabama, Alaska, Albania, Alberta, Aleutian Is., Algeria, Altay, Amur, Antipodean Is., Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas, Assam, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Baltic States, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, British Columbia, Bulgaria, Burundi, Buryatiya, California, Cameroon, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Central European Rus, Chad, Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Chita, Colombia, Colorado, Congo, Connecticut, Corse, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Delaware, Denmark, District of Columbia, Djibouti, East Aegean Is., East European Russia, East Himalaya, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Is., Finland, Florida, France, Free State, Føroyar, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Greenland, Gulf of Guinea Is., Gulf States, Hainan, Hawaii, Hungary, Iceland, Idaho, Illinois, India, Indiana, Inner Mongolia, Iowa, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Irkutsk, Italy, Japan, Jawa, Kamchatka, Kansas, Kazakhstan, Kentucky, Kenya, Kermadec Is., Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kriti, Krym, Kuril Is., Kuwait, KwaZulu-Natal, Laos, Lebanon-Syria, Lesotho, Libya, Louisiana, Madagascar, Madeira, Magadan, Maine, Malawi, Malaya, Mali, Manchuria, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mauritania, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Mongolia, Montana, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nansei-shoto, Nebraska, Nepal, Netherlands, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Guinea, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New South Wales, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Newfoundland, Niger, Nigeria, North Carolina, North Caucasus, North Dakota, North European Russi, Northern Provinces, Northwest European R, Northwest Territorie, Norway, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ogasawara-shoto, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oman, Ontario, Oregon, Pakistan, Palestine, Panamá, Paraguay, Pennsylvania, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Primorye, Prince Edward I., Qinghai, Queensland, Québec, Rhode I., Romania, Rwanda, Sakhalin, Sardegna, Saskatchewan, Saudi Arabia, Selvagens, Sicilia, Sinai, Socotra, Somalia, South Australia, South Carolina, South Dakota, South European Russi, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Svalbard, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Tennessee, Texas, Thailand, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Tristan da Cunha, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Turkmenistan, Tuva, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Utah, Uzbekistan, Vermont, Victoria, Vietnam, Virginia, Washington, West Himalaya, West Siberia, West Virginia, Western Australia, Western Sahara, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Xinjiang, Yakutskiya, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Yukon, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

    Introduced into:

    Amsterdam-St.Paul Is, Angola, Ascension, Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil Northeast, Brazil West-Central, Central African Repu, Crozet Is., Cuba, Desventurados Is., Dominican Republic, Easter Is., El Salvador, Fiji, Galápagos, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Juan Fernández Is., Kerguelen, Leeward Is., Liberia, Macquarie Is., Marion-Prince Edward, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Norfolk Is., Northern Territory, Puerto Rico, Rodrigues, Réunion, South Georgia, St.Helena, Trinidad-Tobago, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Venezuela

    Accepted Species

    Synonyms

    Other Data

    Rumex L. appears in other Kew resources:

    Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
    Strachey, R. [Cat. no. s.n.], India K001132861
    Rico, L. [1790], Armenia K000297283
    Wallich, N. [Cat. no. s.n.], Nepal K001132519

    Bibliography

    First published in Sp. Pl.: 333 (1753)

    Accepted by

    • Schuster, T.M., Reveal, J.L., Bayly, M.J. & Kron, K.A. (2015). An updated molecular phylogeny of Polygonoideae (Polygonaceae): relationships of Oxygonum, Pteroxygonum, and Rumex, and a new circumscription of Koenigia Taxon 64: 1188-1208.
    • Tutin, T.G. & al. (eds.) (1993). Flora Europaea ed. 2, 1: 1-581. Cambridge University Press.

    Literature

    Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • —F.T.A. 6, 1: 114

    Flora Zambesiaca

    • F.T.E.A., Polygonaceae: 5–11 (1958).
    • Graham in F.T.E.A., Polygonaceae: 5–11 (1958).
    • Bot. Not. Suppl., vol. 3, 3: 1–114 (1954).
    • in Bot. Not. Suppl., vol. 3, 3: 1–114 (1954).
    • Candollea 12: 9–152 (1949)
    • in Candollea 12: 9–152 (1949)
    • Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 31: 225–283 (1933)
    • in Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 31: 225–283 (1933)
    • Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 49, 2: 1–132 (1932)
    • K.H. Rechinger in Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 49, 2: 1–132 (1932)
    • Meisner in de Candolle, Prodr. 14: 41–47 (1856).
    • de Candolle, Prodr. 14: 41–47 (1856).
    • Gen. Pl., ed. 5: 156 (1754).
    • Gen. Pl., ed. 5: 156 (1754).
    • Sp. Pl.: 333 (1753)
    • Sp. Pl.: 333 (1753)

    Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • L., Gen. Pl., ed. 5: 156 (1754)
    • Sp. Pl.: 333 (1753)

    Sources

    Flora Zambesiaca
    Flora Zambesiaca
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
    'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2020. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

    Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2020. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0