Yellow Dock: Cleaner of Blood, Intestines, and Emotions

This durable plant is tasty food, good medicine, and rich in iron

Dock plants live all over the world. There are about 200 different species in the Rumex genus, which are part of the buckwheat family. Once you know what to look for, it’s very easy to recognize a plant as dock, but it can be tricky to tell one from another. The dock I live with here in Wisconsin is Yellow Dock, also known as Curly Dock. It is the most common dock in most other areas of North America too. This plant is tough, deep-rooted, and generates her own nutrients. She detoxifies and enriches depleted environments. (Martyn) Dock plants are prolific seed producers, a single plant able to produce up to 60,000 seeds per year that can lay dormant for 50 years.

Identification

Yellow Dock is sometimes considered a biennial, sometimes a perennial, but usually lives for about 4 years. It starts with a cluster of leaves that lay low to the ground in its first year. The following year, it sends up a stalk that grows 3-6 feet high. The leaves are bright green, but can become tinted red, usually this happens later in the season. The leaves are wavy and the leaf is long and lance-shaped. (Blair 168-9)

How to Harvest

Leaves are a delicious sour green in the spring and summer. The greens are usually more tender, nutritious and tasty from plants that have not sent up a stalk. They can be eaten raw or cooked. As the season goes on, leaves decrease in sourness, increase in bitterness, and become more fibrous.

The root is the part of the plant used for medicine. It should be harvested in the fall after the leaves have turned reddish-brown. According to Steven Martyn, the roots can still be harvested the following season even after the plant has flowered, and if needed, he will dig them up and harvest at any time of year. (Martyn)

Favorite Recipes

Dock leaves are rich in vitamin A, thiamine (vitamin B1), Riboflavin (vitamin B2), Niacin (vitamin B3), Folate (vitamin B9), vitamin C, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, calcium, manganese, and dietary fiber. Both the leaves and the seeds are edible, though the seeds can sometimes be very bitter, so it is good to try them before adding them into cooking. I have never eaten the seeds because for a long time I thought that you had to remove the chaff around the seeds, but it turns out you don’t. I have been meaning to try this recipe for dock seed crackers for at least a year, but haven’t gotten to it yet.

Dock is a sour green and one of my favorite greens to use in smoothies. It is easy to gather enough because the leaves can grow to be huge. When they are blended up in the smoothie, you don’t have to worry about the large central vein.

Bacon fried greens

I learned this recipe from Sam Thayer at his foraging class. It’s a delicious way to get a huge amount of greens into your body. There is definitely flexibility about using different wild (or grocery store) greens, but I like to aim for a ratio of 1:1:1 for bitter, neutral, and sour greens

Ingredients:

• 4-6 slices of bacon

• 1 onion, chopped

• 4-5 cups dandelion greens

• 4-5 cups nettle greens

• 4-5 cups yellow dock greens

• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 Tbsp soy sauce

• 1 Tbsp honey or maple syrup

Instructions:

1. Chop bacon into small pieces, fry in pan.

2. While bacon is cooking chop greens. I find that chopping them pretty finely works best for the texture of these greens.

3. After bacon is cooked, add in chopped onions and cook until translucent

4. Add in greens, cook until wilted. Add additional oil (like olive oil) if pan dries out.

5. Add in apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, and honey (or maple syrup).

6. Taste and adjust sweet, sour, or salty as needed.

Wild Greens Smoothie

This is pretty much a standard green smoothie. If you use exclusively dandelion greens, add 1 Tbsp of lemon to cut the bitterness of the greens. There really aren’t instructions, just throw it in a blender and blend.

Ingredients:

• Large handful of mixed greens (I love to use dandelion, lamb’s quarters, wood sorrel, amaranth, purslane, or yellow dock. If you blend it well, and feel bold and daring you can even use nettles. I have done it and lived to tell the tale.)

• 1 cup of frozen fruit (a mix of mango and pineapple is my go to)

• 1 cup of water (or milk)

• 1 Tbsp of lemon juice if using bitter greens like dandelion

• Optional add ins: avocado or yogurt for creaminess, chia or ground flax seeds

Dock Lemonade (Blair 181)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup young dock greens

• 2 apples or 2 tablespoons of honey

• 1 quart of water

Blend all ingredients, then strain out the pulp (or don’t if you want the fiber and don’t mind chewing a drink ;)) Serve over ice if you’re hot.

How to Prepare as Medicine

Tincture

1. Dig up the root of yellow dock in the fall.

2. Rinse as clean as possible

3. Chop into small pieces and place in a jar

4. Pour 5 parts brandy or vodka into the jar for every one part dock root

5. Let sit for 4-6 weeks then strain and store in a dark glass bottle.

Vinegar

Prepare similar to making a tincture, except use 2 parts apple cider vinegar to 1 part root. Let sit for 4 weeks, then strain. This extracts the minerals from the root.

Poultice

To make a poultice, simply grind up the leaves in a mortar and pestle or something similar, then apply it to boils, burns, or other skin problems.

Iron Syrup

Dock Root is also the base for this iron syrup that also uses nettle leaves, dandelion leaves, dandelion roots, and hawthorn berries. The recipe is written to use dried plant materials, but you can just use about twice as much fresh plant material as well if that’s what you have.

Medicinal Uses

General:

• Alterative–Improves overall health and wellbeing

• Provides Vitamin C

• Astringent–tightens and constricts tissues while reducing secretions and discharge

• Increases flow of bile into the intestines

• Removes impurities

• Reduces Fever (Blair 175)

• Antihistamine

• Anti-inflammatory

• Cooling

• Blood purifier

• Improves nutrient absorption and provides nutrients

• Reduces fatigue

• Relieves fibromyalgia (Mashuga)

• Also considered a natural cleanser for the liver, spleen, kidney, and bladder (Bird 44)

Gastrointestinal:

• Used as a laxative in small amounts for a short period of time. (Bird 44) This is especially useful because most other iron supplements can cause constipation.

• Yellow dock seeds can cause constipation. Steven Martyn suggests using them in combination with plantain seeds which contain the fiber that is used in Metamucil.

• Helps with liver congestion and jaundice

• Provides relief when people feel full because food is just sitting in the stomach

• Relieves indigestion and acid reflux (aka GERD or heartburn) (Mashuga)

• Increases flow of bile into the intestines (Blair 175)

• Sources conflict about whether Yellow Dock can be used to treat diarrhea (Mashuga, Martyn) or causes diarrhea (Bird 44). I suspect the distinction depends on dose.

• Relieves leaky gut, Crohn’s (Martyn)

Infectious Disease:

• Antifungal, including for yeast infections and thrush

• Antibacterial

Gynecology:

• Helps unbalanced menstrual cycles (Bird 44)

• When used in combination with nettles relieves fatigue for mothers and pregnant women (Mashuga)

• Though it helps men as a general tonic or for digestive issues, Yellow Dock has an affinity for women and enriches their blood with iron and oxygen

Hematology:

• Roots is high in iron, which can relieve iron-deficiency anemia

• Overnight infusion of yellow dock, with a handful of nettle, oatstraw, and clover significantly improved anemia in pregnancy in a couple of Steven Martyn’s patients

Nephrology:

• One species (R. acetosa) has been used throughout the world as a diuretic

Oncology:

• Prevents cancer (Blair 175)

Dermatology:

• Relieves stings from nettles (medical research does not back up this folk belief)

• Relieves eczema, psoriasis, dry itchy skin, acne (Mashuga)

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the lungs hold onto grief, and both breathing and bowel movements are thought to help with the release of emotions. Because dock acts as a natural laxative, it is thought to help with the release of grief as well. Other Dock species have also been used to stop bleeding.

Yellow dock is also used in Ayurveda to balance excess Pitta, which is associated with anger or rage.

Though dock is native to Europe and Western Asia, Native Americans have utilized it for healing, including healing boils and gout. Cheyenne and Iroquois people used a decoction (longer boiling) of the root for coughs, colds, and sore throats. Some indigenous communities also felt it helps understanding, wisdom, and spirituality. (Mashuga) In her book, The Wild Wisdom of Weeds, Katrina Blair said, “From the Americas to Russia, from Africa to Scandinavian countries, dock has been utilized across cultures as a common remedy for many ailments. It is often referred to in different cultures as a health aid and applied as a wash to heal skin disorders, to stop bleeding, and is consumed internally as a drink for purging and elimination.” (Blair 172)

Medical Literature

Rumex species have been valued as folk medicine throughout the world, in Southern Africa, America, China, Turkey, and India, for example. 268 chemical components have been identified that have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, and antidiabetic properties.

General:

• Water extract of R. patientia roots reduced swelling in rats more than NSAID medication indomethacin

Ear, Nose, and Throat:

• A chemical in R. crispus improved nasal allergy symptoms in rats

Infectious Disease:

• Chemicals from multiple Rumex roots inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis, E. coli, Moraxella catarrhalis, among other types of bacteria

• Chemicals from and acetone-water extract of R. acetosa above ground parts inhibits the growth of herpes viruses

• A chemical in yellow dock, called emodin is effective against MRSA. However, the isolated chemical is not as effective as the whole plant suggesting that multiple compounds work synergistically for maximum effect.

Cardiology:

• R. acetosa methanol extract lowers blood pressure

• R. japonicus protects against the death of heart muscle cells

• R. acetosa prevents platelet activity (like aspirin and medicines like Plavix and Brillinta do)

Gastroenterology:

• Methanol extract of R. japonicus inhibited the development of colon inflammation (colitis) and helped the colon wall maintain a tight barrier

• A chemical from R. aquaticus can relieve damage to the stomach lining from NSAID medications

• The same chemical also protects from H. pylori a bacteria that can cause stomach ulcers and stomach cancer

Metabolic:

• A study on rabbits showed that an alcohol extract of R. obtusifolius lowered fasting blood sugar by 57% and rabbits who received the extract had 1.5 times better glucose tolerance

Oncology:

• Two species of Rumex could inhibit the growth of cervical cancer, breast cancer, and skin cancer cells

• The fruits of Rumex crispus (Yellow dock) killed cervical cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer cells

• A special type of extract (dichloromethane) of R. crispus roots slowed the growth of liver cancer cells and killed liver cancer cells. Another species of Rumex was active against liver cancer cells as well.

• A chemical from R. japonicus showed the potential to treat leukemia

Neurology:

• Emodin, a chemical present in some Rumex species, is known to protect the brain from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and damage from some types of strokes.

Dermatology:

• R. crispus and R. sanguineus improve wound healing because they inhibit the growth of Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria

• Alcohol extract of R. japonicus relieves eczema

• R. crispus prevents degradation of collagen, which has an anti-aging effect

Adverse Effects

According to herbalist, Lori Ann Bird, dock should be avoided for people with endometriosis, hemorrhoids, intestinal obstruction, abdominal pain of unknown cause, or kidney disease because of oxalate and tannin content. (Bird 44) There is a case-report of a woman developing very low platelet levels after drinking yellow dock and burdock tea. Like many nutrient rich greens, Yellow Dock can interfere with how well warfarin (coumadin) works as a blood thinner. Dock is very rich in oxalates, so people with a history of kidney stones may want to avoid this plant.

Ecosystem Services

Yellow dock is a powerful ecosystem healer. They have large taproots. Plants with taproots are especially helpful because they break up compacted soil and allow water and nutrients in. They also pull nutrition from deep in the soil up to the surface and prevent erosion. Dock plants are also hosts to some beneficial insect species and pollinators appreciate their tiny flowers. Some herbalists have told me that dock is excellent for removing contamination from soils, but I wasn’t able to independently verify that in the literature.

History and Folklore

Yellow dock has been used medicinally for at least 2000 years. Pliny the Elder wrote about the plant in 23 AD, Greek physician Dioscorides wrote about the plant around that time as well.

Greeks and Romans used the seeds soaked in water for bloody diarrhea (dysentery). When Julius Caesar’s armies were in Rhineland, they were suffering from mouth sores and weakened limbs (possibly scurvy). The local tribe, the Frisii, advised them to treat with dock root extract. The root boiled in vinegar was used for skin conditions. Dock soaked in wine was used for aching teeth, and it was also considered an effective treatment for goiter. It was an important food source around that time as well. A man’s body was found perfectly preserved in a Denmark bog. His death occurred over 2000 years ago. In his stomach were a large variety of weed seeds including dock. (Blair 171)

Dock leaves have been used to counteract nettle stings throughout Europe. Dock leaves were also added to tobacco pouches to keep tobacco moist. Europeans also soaked the seed in water as a spell to attract money. They would take the liquid the seeds soaked in and sprinkle it around their shop to bring in customers.

To this day, in Lapland, the Sami people use dock greens instead of rennet to curdle milk for buttermilk and cheese and to preserve the milk itself. (Blair 171-2) Alaskan Natives use the dock greens as a base for a fermented food that includes pureed dock greens, berries, seal blubber, and oil.

I was very surprised that I couldn’t find any folklore about this plant. If you know of any, please share it!

Magical Uses

Yellow Dock has a long tradition of use for folk magic. It is used for cleansing, protection, and emotional healing, particularly the release of grief. In some traditions, yellow dock leaves are placed at windows and doorways to keep negative spirits out. Yellow dock root is used for cleansing and the root can be used as incense. The root can also be used to protect from negative influences. Yellow dock tea is still used in money spells for magic. Some will wipe door knobs or cash registers with a cloth soaked in the tea. Yellow Dock is associated with the Morrigan, Astarte, Isis, Luna, and Hecate, suggesting it is a plant related to the life-death-rebirth cycle.

According to The Sacred Willow:

Yellow Dock may be used to clear blockages and cut binding ties that prevent one from moving on. It can help eliminate emotional waste that accumulates as garbage and is lugged around as a burden. It helps one deal with and release emotions tied to problems of the past, anxieties and old pain. Yellow Dock can help open the practitioner to new influences and clears the boundaries between inner and outer space. It is a good herb for periods of transition and transformation at the cusp to a new phase in life.

Flower Essences

Yellow Dock flower essence helps us maintain a strong foundation and stay grounded through challenges. It supports us in stamina, self-esteem and leadership, particularly in toxic or unsupportive environments.

Blessing

Holy dock, thank you for your mighty roots 
That heal the land
Revitalize our blood
And clear out what is no longer needed
Thank you for the generous nourishment your leave provide us
And the abundance and durability of your seeds
Please help us to remain strong in the face of challenges
Absorb what our bodies need
And allow the nutrition we need and the grief we cannot avoid 
flow through us without becoming stagnant

Works Cited

Bird, LoriAnn. Revered Roots: Ancestral Teachings and Wisdom of Wild, Edible, and Medicinal Plants. Cool Springs Press, 2025.

Blair, Katrina. The Wild Wisdom of Weeds: 13 Essential Plants for Human Survival. Chelsea Green Publishing, 2014.