Scientific Name: Rumex crispus L.
Family: Polygonaceae (Buckwheat Family)
Common name: Yellow Dock
Description: Herbaceous robust biennial or short-lived perennial 3-4 feet tall; flowers March-May.
Range and Habitat: Native to the southeast; throughout South Carolina in waste places, pastures and fields.
In Porcher’s time… Yellow Dock was used as a laxative and to treat syphilis. It was also used as an ointment for the treatment of scabies, ringworm and other skin diseases and was recommended as a dentifrice.
See the historical entry on this plant as it appears in Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests