Young Rhubarb leaf (Rheum rhabarbarum) is a species of plant in the family Polygonaceae. They are herbaceous perennials
Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) is a species of plant in the family Polygonaceae. They are herbaceous perennials growing from short, thick rhizomes. They have large leaves that are somewhat triangular, with long fleshy petioles. They have small flowers grouped in large compound leafy greenish-white to rose-red inflorescences. In culinary use, fresh raw petioles (leaf stalks) are crisp (similar to celery) with a strong, tart taste. Most commonly, the plant's leaf stalks are cooked with sugar and used in pies and other desserts. A number of varieties have been domesticated for human consumption, most of which are recognised as Rheum x hybridum by the Royal Horticultural Society. Rhubarb is usually considered a vegetable. In the United States, however, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit, it counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties. A side effect was a reduction on imported rhubarb tariffs, as tariffs were higher for vegetables than fruits. Rhubarb contains anthraquinones including rhein, and emodin and their glycosides ( glucorhein), which impart cathartic and laxative properties. It is hence useful as a cathartic in case of constipation. Rhubarb has been used for medical purposes by the Chinese for thousands of years, and appears in The Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic which is thought to have been compiled about 2,700 years ago. Though Dioscurides' description of ρηον or ρά indicates that a medicinal root brought to Greece from beyond the Bosphorus may have been rhubarb, commerce in the drug did not become securely established until Islamic times. During Islamic times, it was imported along the Silk Road, reaching Europe in the 14th century through the ports of Aleppo and Smyrna, where it became known as "Turkish rhubarb". Later, when the usual route lay through Russia, "Russian rhubarb" became the familiar term. For centuries, it has grown wild along the banks of the River Volga
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Location: Freshford garden Bath UK
Photo credit: © Roland Pargeter / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: fleshy, fruit, herbaceous, inflorescences., leaf, perennials, petioles., polygonaceae., rheumrhabarbarum, rhizomes, rhubarb, rose-red, thick, vegetable, young
