Description
Rumex maritimus (Golden dock) in North America has long been regarded as consisting of two varieties or subspecies, 'fueginus', a native New World form ranging to southern South America, and scattered populations of typical 'maritimus' of European origin (Fernald 1950). This division is not recognized in recent taxonomy (Kartesz 1994; Mitchell 1978; Natural Resources Conservation Service Plants Database 2000).
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plantae | Magnoliophyta | Magnoliopsida | Polygonales | Polygonaceae | Rumex |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
| First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Established | Unknown | Cryptogenic | Regular Resident | North America | Eurasia | Agriculture(Agricultural Weed),Natural Dispersal(Natural Dispersal) |
History of Spread
Rumex maritimus (Golden Dock) is native to Eurasia, and is regareded by most authors as native to North America. However, features of this species' history are suggestive of introduction. Pursh (1814) first reported the synonym 'R. persicarioides' from 'Virginia and Carolina', but the record is puzzling, because R. maritimus has not subsequently been reported from those states. It was reported to occur from Nantucket to Block Island by Gray (1848), and from salt marshes in Monmouth and Ocean Counties in NJ by 1856 (Britton 1889; Harshberger 1900). On the Delaware River, it was found on ballast heaps in 1877, but its present status along this river is unknown (Britton 1889; Burk 1877; Rhoads and Klein 1993).
Rumex maritimus seems to have a spotty distribution in 'saline, brackish, or alkaline marshes' (Fernald 1950) and on 'shores, streambanks, and wet ground” (Gleason and Cronquist 1991). It is now widespread in the Northeast, and West but absent from the southeast, including VA (Natural Resources Conservation Service 2001). Stuckey (1993) regarded it as a native North American Atlantic coastal species which was transported to the interior by roads, railroads and canals.
The first published record of this plant from the Chesapeake Bay region is (Brown and Brown 1984). They describe the habitat as 'shores, wet lands and cultivated soils', MD (Brown and Brown 1984), but no specific locations. It was found in small quantities in 1998-2000 at the upper edge of a brackish marsh in Shady Side MD, growing with R. crispus (Curly Dock) and Atriplex prostrata (Halberd-Leaved Atriplex), and was flooded by spring tides of 12-15 ppt (Fofonoff, personal observations).
History References- Brown and Brown 1984; Britton 1889; Burk 1877; Fernald 1950; Gleason and Cronquist 1991; Gray 1848; Harshberger 1900; Natural Resources Conservation Service 2001; Pursh 1814; Rhoads and Klein 1993; Stuckey 1993
Invasion Comments
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
| For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| Temperature (ºC) | ||||
| Salinity (‰) | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||
| Oxygen | ||||
| pH | ||||
| Salinity Range | fresh-meso |
Age and Growth
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Typical Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Maximum Adult Size (mm) | 800.0 | 800.0 |
| Maximum Longevity (yrs) | ||
| Typical Longevity (yrs |
Reproduction
| Start | Peak | End | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive Season | |||
| Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event |
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| Sexuality Mode(s) | |||
| Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction |
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| Fertilization Type(s) | |||
| More than One Reproduction Event per Year |
|||
| Reproductive Startegy | |||
| Egg/Seed Form |
Impacts
Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay
Rumex maritimus (Golden Dock) is very rare in the Chesapeake Bay region, and has no reported economic impacts..
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
Rumex maritimus (Golden Dock) appears to have no reported economic impacts in the U.S.
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
Rumex maritimus (Golden Dock) is very rare in the Chesapeake Bay region, and has no reported impacts on native biota.
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
Rumex maritimus (Golden Dock) is very rare in the Chesapeake Bay region, and has no reported impacts on exotic biota.
References
Britton, Nathaniel L. (1889) Catalogue of higher plants of New Jersey., , Trenton NJ. Pp.Brown, Melvin L.; Brown, Russell G. (1984) Herbaceous Plants of Maryland, , College Park. Pp.
Burk, Isaac (1877) List of plants recently collected on ships' ballast in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia : 105-109
Fernald, Merritt L. (1950) Gray's Manual of Botany, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.
Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur (1991) Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , Bronx, New York. Pp.
Gray, Asa (1848) A manual of botany of the northern United States., In: (Eds.) . , Boston. Pp.
Harshberger, John W. (1900) An ecological study of the New Jersey strand flora., Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 52: 63-67
Kartesz, John T. (1994) A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland., In: (Eds.) . , Portland OR. Pp.
Mitchell, Richard S. (1978) Rumex maritimus L. versus R. persicarioidesL. (Polygonaceae) in the Western Hemisphere., Brittonia 30: 293-296
1997-2024 USDA PLANTS Database.. Onine databse
Pursh, Frederick (1814) Flora Americae Septentrionalis or, a Systematic Arrangement and Description of the Plants of North America, , Hirschburg. Pp.
Rhoads, Ann Fowler; Klein, William McKinley, Jr. (1993) The Plants of Pennsylvania, , Philadelphia. Pp.
Seymour, Frank Conkin (1989) The Flora of New England, , . Pp.
Stuckey, Ronald L. (1993) Phytogeographical outline of aquatic and wetland angiosperms in continental eastern North America, Aquatic Botany 44: 259-301