About Rumex maderensis Lowe
Rumex maderensis Lowe is a subshrub with ovate-deltoid leaves that wither at the base. It produces simple inflorescences holding unisexual flowers; each flower has six perianth segments arranged in two rows. The plant's fruits are small nuts, enclosed by membranous, suborbicular valves. Both its flowering and fruiting period runs from spring to summer, and both flowers and fruits are wind dispersed. The chromosome count of this species is 2n = 40. This species grows on Madeira Island, and the Western Canary Islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. In Teide National Park, it grows on the western slopes of Montaña de Igueque, at an altitude of around 2100 m. It occurs most often in the Thermo- and Meso-Mediterranean bioclimatic zones, growing on rocky, humid, shady slopes and ravines, in open vegetation formations, or on stony terrain. Rumex maderensis is a characteristic species of the botanical assemblage classified as the Ranunculo cortusifolii-Geranion canariensis alliance. In folk medicine, Rumex maderensis is used as poultices to treat dermatosis, and prepared as an infusion to act as a diuretic and blood depurative.
