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• Taxonomy
• Physical Description
• Distribution
• Reproduction
• Growth
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Taxonomy

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Place of publication: Sp. pl. 1:372. 1753

Name verified on 10-Mar-2004 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 04-Feb-2007

Physical Description

Family Polygonaceae:

Herbs, shrubs, or small trees, sometimes monoecious or dioecious. Stems erect, prostrate, twining, or scandent, often with swollen nodes, striate, grooved, or prickly. Leaves simple, alternate, rarely opposite or whorled, petiolate or subsessile; stipules often united to a sheath (ocrea) . Inflorescence terminal or axillary, spicate, racemose, paniculate, or capitate. Pedicel occasionally articulate. Flowers small, actinomorphic, bisexual, rarely unisexual. Perianth 3-6-merous, in 1 or 2 series, herbaceous, often enlarged in fruit or inner tepals enlarged, with wings, tubercles, or spines. Stamens usually (3-) 6-9, rarely more; filaments free or united at base; anthers 2-loculed, opening lengthwise; disk annular (often lobed) . Ovary superior, 1-loculed; styles 2 or 3, rarely 4, free or connate at lower part. Fruit a trigonous, biconvex, or biconcave achene; seed with straight or curved embryo and copious endosperm.

About 50 genera and 1120 species: worldwide, but primarily N temperate with a few species in tropical regions; 13 genera (two endemic) and 238 species (65 endemic) in China.^[1]

Genus Rheum:

Herbs, perennial; roots fleshy. Stems erect, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves deciduous, mostly basal, alternate, petiolate; ocrea persistent or deciduous, chartaceous; blade cordate-ovate to orbiculate or reniform, margins entire, undulate. Inflorescences terminal, paniclelike, pedunculate. Pedicels present. Flowers bisexual, 1-10 per ocreate fascicle, base stipelike; perianth nonaccrescent in fruit, whitish green or pinkish green, campanulate, glabrous; tepals 6, distinct, sepaloid, dimorphic, outer 3 narrower than inner 3; stamens (6-) 9; filaments distinct, free, glabrous; anthers yellow or pinkish, elliptic; styles 3, erect or deflexed, distinct; stigmas capitate. Achenes exserted, dark brown, winged, 3-gonous, glabrous. Seeds: embryo straight or curved. x = 11.

Species ca. 60: introduced; temperate regions, Eurasia.^[2]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: June. • Flower Color: near white, white

Distribution

Range and Population

Native: Heilongjiang, Hubei, Jilin, Nei Monggol, Shanxi China.

Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 24-36" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b. (map)

Similar Species

Members of the genus Rheum:

There are approximately 331 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them: R. 'Ace of Hearts' (Ace of Hearts Ornamental Rhubarb Rheum) · R. 'Ace of Spades' · R. 'Andrew's Red' · R. 'Dr Baillon' · R. 'Green Knight' · R. 'Holstein Bloodred' · R. 'Kentville' · R. 'Melmerby' · R. 'Timperley Early' (Rhubarb) · R. acuminatum · R. alexandrae · R. alexandrai · R. altaicum · R. aplostachyum · R. australe (Himalayan Rhubarb) · R. austriacum · R. bailloni · R. cantoniense · R. caspicum · R. collinianum · R. compactum · R. compactum var. orientale · R. cordatum · R. coreanum · R. crassinervium · R. crassinervum · R. crispum · R. cruentum · R. cuneatum · R. darvasicum · R. delavayi · R. dentatum · R. digynum · R. emodi · R. emodium · R. esculentum · R. fedtschenkoi · R. fenestratum · R. forrestii · R. franzenbachii · R. glabricaule · R. globulosum · R. hirsutum · R. hissaricum · R. hotaoense · R. hybridum · R. inopinatum · R. kialense · R. korshinskyi · R. laciniatum · R. leucorrhizum · R. lhasaense · R. likiangense · R. lobatum · R. lucidum · R. macrocarpum · R. macropterum · R. maculatum · R. maximowiczi · R. maximowiczii · R. maximowiezii · R. megalocarpon · R. megalophyllum · R. micranthum · R. microcarpum · R. moorcroftianum · R. muricatum · R. nanum · R. nepalense · R. nobile (Noble Rhubarb) · R. nutans · R. officinale (Chinese Rhubarb) · R. orientale · R. orientixizangense · R. ovatum · R. palaestinum · R. palmatum (Chinese Rhubarb) · R. palmatum ''Rubrum'' · R. palmatum 'Atropurpureum Dissectum' · R. palmatum 'Atropurpureum' · R. palmatum 'Atrosanguineum' (Ornamental Rhubarb) · R. palmatum 'Bowles' Crimson' · R. palmatum 'Da Huang' · R. palmatum 'Flore Rubro' · R. palmatum 'Red Herald mxd' · R. palmatum 'Red Herald' · R. palmatum 'Savill' · R. palmatum var. tanguticum (Rhubarb) · R. palmatum var. palmatum · R. palmatum var. tanguticum (Chinese Rhubarb) · R. palmatum var. tanguticum 'Rosa Auslese' · R. persicum · R. pichonii · R. platylobum · R. plicatum · R. potaninii · R. przewalskyi · R. pumilum · R. qinlingense · R. racemiferum

Bibliography

• Chin, T. C. and H. W. Youngken. 1947. The cytotaxonomy of Rheum. Amer. J. Bot. 34: 401-407.
• Czerepanov, S. K. 1995. Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR). (L USSR)
• Erhardt, Walter; E. G and ouml;tz, N. B and ouml;deker, S. Seybold (2000): Zander - Handw and ouml;rtebuch der Pflanzennamen, 16. Aufl.
• FNA Editorial Committee. 1993. Flora of North America. (F NAmer)
• Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. (L US Can ed2)
• Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934 and ndash;1964. Flora SSSR. (F USSR) [in part = R. undulatum L.].
• Li Anjen, Kao Tsoching, Mao Zumei & Liu Yulan. 1998. Polygonaceae. In: Li Anjen, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 25(1): 1209.
• Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1993. Flora europaea, second edition. (F Eur ed2)
• Wu Zheng-yi and P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994 and ndash;. Flora of China (English edition). (F ChinaEng)

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Notes

Contributors:

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 27, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 14 providers.
• USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL (April 30, 2008)

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 27, 2007:

• Bundesamt für Naturschutz / Zentralstelle für Phytodiversität Deutschland, Bundesamt fuer Naturschutz / Zentralstelle fuer Phytodiversitaet Deutschland
• International Plant Genetic Resources Institute(IPGRI), EURISCO
• Jyväskylä University Museum - The Section of Natural Sciences, Vascular plant collection of Jyvaskyla University Museum
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• The Swedish Museum of Natural History
• , Herbarium of Oskarshamn
• The Swedish Museum of Natural History
• , Plants
• USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database
• University of Alaska Museum of the North, University of Alaska Museum of the North Herbarium
• inatura - Erlebnis Naturschau Dornbirn, inatura - Erlebnis Naturschau Dornbirn

Identifiers:

• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 504747
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13761959
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:696783-1
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: RHRH2
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 58886

Footnotes:

1. Anjen Li, Bojian Bao, Alisa E. Grabovskaya-Borodina, Suk-pyo Hong, John McNeill, Sergei L. Mosyakin, Hideaki Ohba & Chong-wook Park "Polygonaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 5 Page 277. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
2. Craig C. Freeman "Rheum". in Flora of North America Vol. 5. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org.