Patience Dock

(Rumex patientia)

Origin: Elmer, New Jersey

Improvement status: Wild

Seeds per packet: ~50

Germination tested 08/2024: 95%

Life cycle: Perennial

Patience Dock is a perennial vegetable commonly found growing as a weed in disturbed areas. In Spring, when the leaves are tender, they are are commonly added to soups, salads, casseroles, and stir fries. It has a tangy flavor similar to its cousin sorrel (both are in the buckwheat family), due to the presence of oxalic acid and tannins. Too much oxalic acid consumption is bad for human health, so the leaves are often boiled quickly before eating. In Romania, large leaves are par-boiled and stuffed with a variety of fillings then cooked in sauce (like stuffed cabbage). Also known as "monk's rhubarb," it is purported to have many medicinal qualities. Flower stalks should be cut before seeds ripen to prevent Patience Dock from taking over your garden. Once plants are well established, the whole plant can be cut down to produce new tender leaves during the growing season. In temperate climates it will die back come Winter and re-grow quite early in the Spring.