Rheum rhabarbarum 'Crimson Red'

(Da Huang, Pieplant, Rhubarb)

Taxonomy

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 Linnaeus
        Botanical name: Rheum rhabarbarum 'Crimson Red'

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

Distribution

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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.
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

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Contributors:

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: 969153

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 05, 2008