Curly dock is a very tenacious perennial that often persists in turf areas. It has a large, thick taproot that penetrates deep into the soil. Because of this root, curly dock grows most actively when grass is suffering from stress of hot, dry weather. Long, narrow leaves have "curly" or "wavy" edges and form a strong, tough rosette. These leaves are a bright, shiny green in the spring, but as summer and fall approach they become tinged with a reddish-purple. Curly dock seldom produces seed in maintained turf. In waste areas where the plant can grow unchecked, small greenish flowers are porduced in clusters at the top of the main stem. These flowers later turn to flattened brown seedpods.