Tropical Dock
Rumex obovatus
Found in maritime shores, riverbanks, pond margins. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
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At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 22 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Habitats
Streams, rivers and their banks; ponds, lakes and their shores.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
36CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Rumex
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
- Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
- Apantesis argeArge Tiger Moth
- Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
- Argyrogramma verrucaGolden Looper
- Calothysanis amaturariaCross-Lined Wave
- Chionodes discoocellellaEyeringed Chionodes
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
Show all 36
- Dypterygia rozmaniAmerican Bird's-Wing
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Hahncappsia mancalisCommon Hahncappsia
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Lacinipolia renigeraBristly Ground Cat, Bristly Cutworm Moth, Kidney Spotted "Mamestra"
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Nymphalis antiopaMourning Cloak
- Olethreutes fasciatanaBanded Olethreutes
- Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
- Orthonama obstipataThe Gem
- Papaipema baptisiaeWild Indigo Borer, Indigo Stem Borer
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Pseudeustrotia carneolaPink-Barred Lithacodia, Pink-Barred Pseudeustrotia
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Sunira bicoloragoBicolored Sallow
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
- Ancylostomia stercorea
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
26BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Rumex
- Alectoris chukarChukar
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Aythya affinisLesser Scaup
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
- Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
- Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
- Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
Show all 26
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Oreortyx pictusMountain Quail
- Pheucticus melanocephalusBlack-headed Grosbeak
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Sialia mexicanaWestern Bluebird
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Spinus psaltriaLesser Goldfinch
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
- Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Polygonaceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- FloraQuest: Florida (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications