Rheum rhabarbarum

(Da Huang, Garden Rhubarb, Pieplant, Rhubarb)

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Plantae Haeckel, 1866 - Plants
  - Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae Cavalier-Smith, 1981 - Green Plants
    - Phylum: Magnoliophyta Cronquist, Takhtajan & W. Zimmermann, 1966 - Flowering Plants
      - Subphylum: Spermatophytina (auct.) Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - Seed Plants
        Infraphylum: Angiospermae auct.
        Class: Magnoliopsida Brongniart, 1843 - Dicotyledons
        Subclass: Caryophyllidae Takhtajan, 1967
        Superorder: Polygonanae Takhtajan ex Reveal, 1992
        Order: Polygonales Dumortier, 1829
        Family: Polygonaceae Durande, 1782, nom. cons. - Buckwheat Family
        Subfamily: Polygonoideae
        Tribe: Rumicieae
        Genus: Rheum (REE-um) Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 371. 1753. Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 174. 1754. - Rhubarb [Greek rheon, a name used by Dioscorides, probably for a plant in this genus]
        Specific epithet: rhabarbarum L.
        Botanical name: Rheum rhabarbarum L.

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

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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

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Range and Population

North America

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

Reproduction

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Duration: Perennial

Growth

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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

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Members of the genus Rheum:

Bibliography

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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. Götz, N. Bödeker, S. Seybold (2000): Zander - Handwörtebuch 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. 1934–1964. 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 & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994–. Flora of China (English edition). (F ChinaEng)

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Notes

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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 & 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 fÃ¼r Naturschutz / Zentralstelle fÃ¼r PhytodiversitÃ¤t Deutschland, Bundesamt fuer Naturschutz / Zentralstelle fuer Phytodiversitaet Deutschland
International Plant Genetic Resources Institute(IPGRI), EURISCO
JyvÃ¤skylÃ¤ 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:

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.
Craig C. Freeman "Rheum". in Flora of North America Vol. 5. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org.

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Last Revised: May 04, 2008