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• Physical Description
• Distribution
• Landscaping
• Growth
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Taxonomy

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]

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

Seeds: Fruit: Prolific, red-flushed slender stalks. Mild sweet flavor. Juicy and very tender.

Foliage: Summer foliage: Large bold leaves.

Images:

Distribution

Landscaping

Care: Remove flowering stems to maintain productivity. Harvest second year. Pick heavily third year.

Growth

Culture: Space 4' apart. Best harvested when 12" long. Pull 2" from base.

Soil: Soil: Rich, moist, well-drained soil. • Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to part 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.
• Li Anjen, Kao Tsoching, Mao Zumei & Liu Yulan. 1998. Polygonaceae. In: Li Anjen, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 25(1): 1209.

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Notes

Contributors:

• Behnke Nurseries, Potomac MD USA
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 6, 2006.

Identifiers:

• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 983727

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.