Leaf
David Morris, Wikipedia · CC BY 2.0
Rhubarb
Rheum x hybridum
Also known as: Garden rhubarb
Family: Polygonaceae
80 cm to 1.5 m in flower
Grown in vegetable gardens and gardens, cool, rich soils
Flowering: May – July
Full sun
Part shade
Very hardy, to about -30°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Although used like a fruit in cooking (tarts, jams), rhubarb is botanically a vegetable — only the petiole is eaten, as its leaves are toxic.
🍃 Leaves
Very large, heart-shaped, crinkled, borne on long fleshy red or green petioles (the part eaten)
🌸 Flowers
Small, greenish-white to pinkish, in a large erect panicle that can exceed 1.5 m
🍎 Fruits
Small winged achene
🪵 Bark
Perennial rootstock forming a clump of thick fleshy petioles each spring
🗺️ Distribution
Cultivated throughout France, especially in the north
🐝 Value for pollinators
Large flowering rich in nectar, visited by many insects when the plant runs to flower
✂️ Horticultural uses
Perennial stem vegetable of the vegetable garden, grown for its petioles used in tarts and jam
⚠️ Possible toxicity
Petioles edible when cooked; the leaves (blade) are rich in oxalic acid and toxic, never to be eaten
🌿 Other Polygonaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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