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Pale Dock

Rumex altissimus

Found in bottomlands, swamps, marshes, roadsides, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

53
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
2–4 feet
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Soil moisture
Average to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
June to August

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 25 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 127 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

50CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Rumex

  • Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
  • Agnorisma badinodisPale-Banded Dart
  • Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
  • Anaplectoides prasinaGreen Arches Dart
  • Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
  • Apantesis argeArge Tiger Moth
  • Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
  • Argyrogramma verrucaGolden Looper
  • Calothysanis amaturariaCross-Lined Wave
  • Chionodes discoocellellaEyeringed Chionodes
Show all 50
  • Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
  • Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
  • Chrysoteuchia topiariusCranberry Girder, Subterranean Webworm, Topiary Grass-Veneer
  • Clepsis persicanaWhite Triangle Tortrix
  • Dypterygia rozmaniAmerican Bird's-Wing
  • Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Euxoa tessellataTessellate Dart, Striped Cutworm
  • 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
  • Lycaena hypophlaeasAmerican Copper
  • Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
  • Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
  • Nymphalis antiopaMourning Cloak
  • Ochropleura implectaAmerican Flame-Shouldered Dart
  • Olethreutes fasciatanaBanded Olethreutes
  • Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
  • Orthonama obstipataThe Gem
  • Papaipema baptisiaeWild Indigo Borer, Indigo Stem Borer
  • Papaipema marginidensBrick-Red Borer
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Phlogophora irisOlive Angle Shades
  • 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
  • Trachea delicataDelicate Moth
  • Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
  • Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
  • Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
  • Xestia smithiiSmith's Dart
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist 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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Polygonaceae
Flower color
Green

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Tall Dock

Conservation status

Virginia rankS3S4
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources