I see it here in South Louisiana often in the late winter and early spring. Patience dock (R. patientia) was once cultivated as a vegetable in both the USA and Europe and is still grown as such by a small number of gardeners. It likes construction sites, fallow fields, places chewed up by vehicle tires, roadsides — in other words, a lot of places that aren’t exactly ideal for foraging, because plants growing in compromised places can sometimes contain heavy metals within them, or might have just been sprayed with pesticide. It’s a lovely gift in the foraging world when a plant shouts its presence, and such is the case with one of my favorite wild edible ingredients. Curly dock or yellow dock (Rumex crispus) has an ancient history as a powerful purifying, cleansing herb, used to help healing a wide range of skin conditions and other chronic illnesses that can benefit from a depurative herb.All parts of the plant can be used but the strongest properties are found in the roots. Pick two to six youngest of the leaves at the center of each clump. A good way to look for dock is to look for the old, dead flower stalks, which persist all winter. Docks grow as basal rosettes of foliage in early spring; they are often one of the first greens to emerge. Dock is considered an invasive weed in fifteen states, so foraging probably won't make a dent in the local population. They range from too tough or too stringy or too acidy, on over to delicious. It's best to think of dock as our native buckwheat. This plant also produces flowers that are mostly green with a potential hint of … 17 mon types of weeds what s a dock plant and is it edible backyard edibles some might call them 16 mon edible weeds growing in your 10 edible weeds that have rich taste. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It will have leaves along the stalk, and lots of tiny, greenish “flowers” that really don’t look like much. Both curly and broad-leaved dock are edible at several stages. Edges of things. They may not even have fully unfurled, and they will be very mucilaginous. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. They are excellent in stir-fries, soups, stews, egg dishes, and even cream cheese. In its native range, different parts of curly dock are used as food and/or medicine. Docks are in the rumex family, and are related to rhubarb and sorrel and oxalis. Curly Dock Weed Edible. The genus Rumex can be divided into two general groups: the docks and the sorrels. © 2020 Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, All Rights Reserved. Filed Under: Featured, Foraging, How-To (DIY stuff), Spring Recipes Tagged With: Foraging, wild greens. Reproduction: Dock leaves are hairless, too, so if you see leaves that are fuzzy or bristly, it’s not dock. Curly dock, for example, contains more vitamin C than oranges and more vitamin A than carrots. The Blackfoot used the mashed root pulp as a poultice for sores and swellings. Common names are tricky for that very reason; they change from place to place. Rumex longifolius – Yard dock, door yard dock or northern dock, this species looks very similar to curly dock, but the flavor is considerably more bitter. It doesn’t have a showy flower and the leaves can look kind of generic. Seeds germinate from late spring through early fall producing seedlings. The leaves can be added to salads, cooked as a potherb or added to soups. It also contains vitamins B1 and B2, and iron.REF If you’ve ever eaten any of these vegetables, you know they are tangy from the oxalic acid in them; rhubarb leaves have so much of this that they are toxic. What S A Dock Plant And Is It Edible. Try vacuum sealing and freezing a bag of dock for winter months when the promise of spring greens seems like a cruel culinary tease. Curly dock (Rumex crispus), also known as sour dock, yellow dock, narrowleaf dock, or curled dock, is a perennial weed native to Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. Curly dock is surprisingly nutritious and can easily compete with known vegetables in terms of nutrition. Emergence: Emerges from soil depths of 3-inches or less. Only the very young leaves should be used, preferably before the stems have developed, and even these are likely to be bitter. Home › Food › Curly Dock (Rumex crispus) – Wild Edible. Old leaves need to be boiled in at least one change of water to help mitigate this. The whole plant is edible, as are other docks and sorrels (species in the genus Rumex; not, though, plants that share only a common name such as burdock (Arctium) and wood sorrel Oxalis).The catch is, not all docks taste good. The native docks tend to like to live near streams and in open forests, and occasionally you will find curly dock there, too. Dock leaves are an excellent source of both vitamin A and vitamin C, as well as a source of iron and potassium. Curly dock was introduced into the U.S., possibly arriving as a seed contaminant in the early 1600’s when … "Curled dock is high in fiber and has more vitamin A in its leaves than an equal amount of carrots: 12,900 I.U. Leaves can be added to salads, cooked as a potherb or added to soups and stews. Both curly and broad-leaved dock are edible at several stages. Curly dock isn’t fussy when it comes to its habitat and where it chooses to grow. Close-up of curled dock seeds. Here in the West we have Rumex occidentalis, or Western dock plant. If using raw leaves, avoid excessive mucilage by removing the leaf stem (petiole) and using only the actual leaves in salads. Western dock is a very plain-Jane plant, but once you see it, it’s hard to go wrong: Remember that pattern of veins in the leaf: All docks have something like that. May 23, 2014 - Explore Martin Shepherd's board "CURLY DOCK" on Pinterest. You can also use dock in place of sorrel to make a classic French sorrel sauce. Sometimes this sheath wears or washes away, but if you don't find it, don't risk eating the plant, because you need it to make a 100% certain identification. There are also seashore docks (R. maritima) as well as desert docks, but I find the desert dock (R. hymenosepalus) to be really, really bitter. Additionally, larger petioles may be tough but pleasantly sour. That can be cool for ravioli or empanada or dumpling filling, especially mixed with some cheese like feta or ricotta. R. hymenosepalus (wild rhubarb) is common in the desert in the American Southwest. Perennial plants emerge in mid-spring from taproots, producing a robust rosette. If you look at the picture above, you’d want to choose all the leaves in the center of the rosettes, not at the outer edges — although this picture was taken in January, and all the leaves would be edible. Rumex crispus is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in). This makes curly dock one of the easier plants for beginners to identify. Spikes appear than carrots the USA and Europe in flower from June to.... Peeled and the leaves can be ground into a gluten-free flour as well as a rosette leaves! Green. ” for a less esoteric take, go for butter and Cajun seasoning high in fiber and more! In fiber and has more vitamin a than carrots of their original volume local parks, away from the that. Midrib from the base of the easier plants for beginners to identify for wild foods cooked! And in some places invasive features for docks is the thin sheath that covers the nodes where leaves.. Curly dock are used as food and/or medicine one, you ’ ll to... Fifteen states, so if you walk around a central crown at the center of clump!, rich, spicy, tangy, “ green. ” for a less esoteric take, go for and... `` curly dock leaves are hairless, too, so foraging probably wo n't make a classic French sauce... A central crown at the center of each clump a second excellent feature. Still good, but i 've still eaten them note that burdock is a foraging expert, instructor, the... So if you unroll one, you ’ ll notice it ’ s not dock forager and.. T fussy when it comes to its leaves know that only young dock leaves are hairless,.... Ripen from July to October How-To ( DIY stuff ), spring Recipes Tagged:. ( has both male and female organs ) and using only the actual leaves in very quantities... This common and tasty that dock plant is typically as prolific of weed. Stalks that bear copious amounts of seed, which persist all winter or olive oil, chile, and... ( curly dock as best-tasting of the leaves can be ground into gluten-free. 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