The reddish pink inforescense of
rumex hymenosepalus consists of elongated clusters of many dozen small flowers, each formed of small sepals about half an inch long. Plants have a thick root cluster, used by early Spanish settlers as a source of tannin. The smooth, reddish stems are also thick, an inch across at the base, and have nodes at intervals from which grow large, waxy, curly-edged leaves, at the base and along the lower half, and flower stems towards the top. Younger leaves are edible. Flowers are followed by three-pronged oval seed pods, light brown or pink in color; these persist longer than the flowers. All plant parts are essentially hairless.