General: Wild Rhubarb (Rumex hymenosepalus) is a perennial forb that grows in sandy desert areas in the spring with such large and green leaves that it looks out of place. As the desert heats up, the leaves and flowering stalk die and blow way, making the plant seem to disappear from the landscape. The plant, however, survives underground as tubers and rhizomes roots. A stout flower stalk produces tiny green flowers that age to yellow and red, and eventually produce showy pink, aging to red and brown, clusters of seeds.

Wild Rhubarb is a fairly common component of vegetation communities in sandy areas on upper bajadas into the lower mountains in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones. Around Las Vegas, look for Wild Rhubarb in sandy desert areas of Lake Mead, Red Rocks, and Gold Butte.

Other Names: Canaigre Dock, Arizona Dock, Wild-Rhubarb. Rumex arizonicus, Rumex hymenosepalus var. salinus, Rumex salinus, Rumex saxei.

Family: Buckwheat (Polygonaceae).

It is said that the tuber and roots can be used in tanning leather and dying, and the young leaves can be eaten like domestic rhubarb.