Rheum officinale

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Read about Rheum officinale in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Rheum officinale, Baill. Fig. 3375. Robust, with a short, branching st. or crown 4-10 in. high: lvs. very large, 1-3 ft. across, round-oval, more or less pointed or acuminate, hairy, 3-7-lobed, the lobes extending one- third or one-half the depth of the blade and sharply angled-notched: fl.-sts. 3-10 ft., much branched, bearing numerous greenish fls. that give a feathery effect to the panicle: achenes red, winged. Thibet and W. China, on high tablelands. B.M. 6135. R.H. 1874, p. 95. Gn. 36, p. 243; 48, pp. 199, 208; 59, p. 282. G.C. 111.55:328. G. 9:341; 18:428; 23, 452, 453.— Probably the best species of the genus for general cultivation for ornament, making a striking foliage plant. It is from the short thick branching st. or caudex of this plant that most of the true officinal rhubarb is derived. Although known to the Chinese for centuries and the product long imported into Europe, the plant was not described botanically until 1872. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

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