''Rumex hymenosepalus'', commonly known as canaigre, canaigre dock, ganagra, wild rhubarb, Arizona dock, and tanner's dock, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

which is native to the North American deserts in the southwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is a common food plant of the ruddy copper larvae.

Uses

It has been cultivated in the southwestern United States for the roots, a good source of

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...

, which is used in

leather tanning Tanning is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Tanning hide into leather involves a process which permanently alters the protein structure of skin, makin ...

. It also yields a warm, medium brown dye. The leaves and leaf stalks are considered edible when young, the older leaf stalks cooked and eaten like

rhubarb Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhizo ...

, which is in the same plant family.

Taxonomy

''Rumex hymenosepalus'' was first described by American

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

John Torrey John Torrey (August 15, 1796 – March 10, 1873) was an American botany, botanist, chemist, and physician. Throughout much of his career, he was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, while he also pursued botanical work, focus ...

in the Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary in 1859.Torrey, J. 1859. Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary. Botany 2(1): 177–178. 1859.1 ;Synonyms * ''Rumex arizonicus'' Britton * ''Rumex salinus'' A. Nelson * ''Rumex hymenosepalus'' var. ''salinus'' (A. Nelson) Rech. * ''Rumex saxei'' nom. nudum. UNAM

References

External links

* * * *
The Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Rumex hymenosepalus''
hymenosepalus Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the South-Central United States Flora of Baja California Flora of California Flora of Chihuahua (state) Flora of Colorado Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Great Basin Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Taxa named by John Torrey {{Polygonaceae-stub