Rumex obtusifolius Linnaeus
broad-leaved dock
western and central Europe; introduced into North America,
Australasia
Probably the most general practice in all of folk medicine, occurring through-
out the British Isles, is rubbing a dock leaf on to the skin to ease a sting. For
such a purpose, the wide leaves ofRumex obtusifolius most obviously sug-
gest themselves, though they may be merely a quick and easy stand-in for the
more onerous but more certainly efficient practice of poulticing the sting
with the pulped root, sometimes every few hours, as in the Badenoch dis-
trict of Inverness-shire.^165 In the case of most other uses, however, there has
probably been no consistent distinction drawn between it and the no less
common and generally distributed R. crispus; ‘dock’ or (less often) ‘common
dock’ may refer to either or both.
‘Dock’ in this more general sense has been used for all the ailments
appearing in records of a particular species, but predictably to a greater
extent. The complaints to emerge from the records with the next highest inci-
dence after stings are burns and scalds, though only if the British Isles are
taken as a whole—the records traced from Britain alone are restricted just to
Cornwall,^166 Pembrokeshire^167 and South Uist in the Outer Hebrides^168 (in
other words the westernmost fringe). Third in popularity in Britain is apply-
ing a leaf to staunch bleeding from a cut, as a second-best to one from a plan-
tain, near-universally favoured for that. That has been recorded from Essex,^169
some part of Wales,^170 the Isle of Man^171 and Shetland.^172 That use in Essex
has involved soaking the leaf in brandy first, seemingly for lack of the petals
of Madonna lilies (Lilium candidum Linnaeus) which have been so widely
used, mixed with brandy, for the same purpose in many parts of the Eastern
Counties (or with whisky in Scotland or wine in the Mediterranean).
The leaves, roots and even seeds of docks have had many other applica-
tions besides just those. Most simply, the leaves have been used to absorb
moisture, as that of perspiring feet in the South Riding of Yorkshire,^173 or
when heated to alleviate headaches in Norfolk^174 or the pain of rheumatism
on the Dorset-Somerset border.^175 Slightly more advanced has been the use
of either the leaves or the roots as dressings for sores of a variety of kinds,
ranging from stone-bruises on the arms of Oxfordshire quarrymen^176 to
chapped thighs in Norfolk^177 and galled feet in Herefordshire^178 and Suf-
folk.^179 InEssex, one step further, the seeds have been boiled for drawing the
pus from a wound or a boil.^180 Docks have also been popular for rashes, but
98 Rumex obtusifolius