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long-cultivated hybrid of Rheum palmatum; stems often cooked in pies or as sauce or preserves

long-cultivated hybrid of Rheum palmatum; stems often cooked in pies or as sauce or preserves

The root of this seems to have been the rhubarb of the ancients. It is more astringent than that of the rheum palmatum, and less purgative; for the latter purpose, two or three drachms being required for a dose. French, Rhapontic, or Krimea Rhubarb, is obtained from this species, as well as from Rh. undulatum, and Rh. compactum.

Garden rhubarb; a native of southern Siberia and the regions of the volga; cultivated in Europe and the United States for its acidulous and edible leaf stalks and for its medicinal root. The juice of the leaf stalks contains oxalic acid and malic acid, and is sometimes expressed and made into a wine.