Tropical Dock
Rumex obovatus
—
Not native
Not native to Louisiana. 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 12 Louisiana parishes.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
37CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Rumex
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Agnorisma badinodisPale-Banded Dart
- 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
Show all 37
- Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
- 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"
- Leuconycta lepidulaMarble-Green Jaspidia, Marble-Green Leuconycta
- 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
- Papaipema nebrisStalk 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
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
13BirdsRecorded eating Rumex in Louisiana
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Louisiana, most records first.
- Common Ground-dove6 diet records
- Chipping SparrowSeeds. 2 diet records
- Field SparrowSeeds. 2 diet records
- Wild Turkey2 diet records
- American Pipit1 diet record
- American RobinFruit. 1 diet record
- Dark-eyed JuncoSeeds. 1 diet record
- Eastern BluebirdFruit. 1 diet record
- House FinchSeeds. 1 diet record
- Lesser ScaupSeeds. 1 diet record
Show all 13
- Song SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- Spotted TowheeSeeds. 1 diet record
- White-crowned SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Birds that eat Rumex 13
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Common Ground-doveColumbina passerina
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Field SparrowSpizella pusilla
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Spotted TowheePipilo maculatus
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Polygonaceae
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- NatureServe Explorer
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana occurrence source
- 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