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Clustered dock (Rumex conglomeratus)

Clustered Dock is naturalised widely in southern Australia and is an agricultural and environmental weed. It can reduce pasture productivity and affect native plant communities, so integrated management is recommended.

Key facts

Type: Weed, herb.

Native to: Europe, the Mediterranean region and Central Asia.

Established in: QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA, WA.

Other names: Sharp Dock.

Identification

  • This tap-rooted perennial herb grows 30 to 100 cm high and usually branches below the middle.
  • Its stiff branches spread widely, and it has a ground-level rosette of basal leaves.
  • Numerous small flowers form dense clusters spaced along the branches; the fruiting heads become rusty-brown.
  • Each three-sided fruit is surrounded by three persistent valves with untoothed margins and a large lump on the back.
  • Look-alike: Curled Dock has untoothed fruit valves like Clustered Dock, but is much taller and stouter, with branches that are more or less erect.
  • Look-alike: Sorrel has untoothed fruit valves too, but is shorter and more slender, is rhizomatous, and has more or less erect branches.

Where it grows

In Australia it occurs in temperate regions of all states, in seasonally moist, over-grazed pastures, disturbed roadsides, cultivation paddocks, open forest and rainforest edges, and along creeks and streams.

Why it matters

  • It can seriously reduce pasture productivity.
  • It contains oxalates and is suspected of poisoning stock, although levels are generally unlikely to be high enough to kill them.
  • In native plant communities it can compete for space, light, moisture and nutrients, affecting biodiversity.

How it spreads

  • It disperses by seed, and mature fruits can break off when branches are brushed by people, animals or equipment, from mid-summer to winter.
  • Seed may be transported by wind, mud and water.
  • Cultivation equipment can create fragments of the crown and upper taproot that regenerate.

Control options

  • Deep hoeing or grubbing can control single plants.
  • For larger infestations, use a combination of cultivation and registered herbicides.
  • In pastures, the spray/graze technique can reduce infestations.
  • Slashing and mowing are not effective.

Hygiene and washdown

  • Check and clean equipment and gear before moving between sites, as mature fruits can detach when brushed and seed may be transported in mud.
  • Inspect and clean vehicles, plant and footwear before leaving an infested area, paying attention to tyres, radiators, belly plates, tracks and floor mats.
  • Wash down at a designated bay where runoff is contained and can be monitored for seedlings.
  • Record each washdown so the client has evidence of clean entry and exit.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): No national listing. Managed under state and territory law.
  • Queensland: Not prohibited or restricted. Not listed as prohibited or restricted matter in Queensland. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: Not a priority weed. Not a state or regional priority weed in NSW. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Not declared. Not declared under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. Other Victorian laws may still apply.
  • South Australia: Not declared. Not declared under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019. Other laws may still apply.
  • Western Australia: Permitted, not declared. Listed as a permitted organism in WA, so it can be brought in, but it is not a declared pest.
  • Tasmania: Not declared. Not a declared weed in Tasmania. Other laws may still apply.
  • Northern Territory: Check NT list. There is no NT weed profile for it. Check the NT declared weeds list for its current status.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Not declared. Not declared under the Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT). A general biosecurity duty still applies.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • Queensland: Biosecurity Act 2014 (Qld), administered by Biosecurity Queensland (13 25 23)
  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Australian Capital Territory: Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT), administered by ACT Biosecurity
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • Tasmania: Biosecurity Act 2019 (Tas), administered by Biosecurity Tasmania
  • South Australia: Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (SA), administered by the regional landscape board
  • Western Australia: Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (WA), administered by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Sources