TIIL ILLUSTRATION HORTICOLE. 



PL. CCIX. 



apposed, 



RHEUM NOBILE , hooker & Thomson. 



Nat. Obd. POLYGONACEAE. 



ETYMOLOGY : from p«», to flow, according to Linnaeus, in allusion to its purgative properties, or rather, 

 from Rha, the old name of the Volga, near which Rhubarb was found growing. 



GKXKRIC CHARACTER: flares hermaphroditi (rarius passim abortu unisexuales). Calyx semicorollinus , 6-partitus , persistens, 

 haud increscens , laciniis aequalikii v. 1 alternis paullo minoribus. Grlandulae vel squamae perigynae nullae. Stamina 9 (rarissime 6) intra 

 calyci inserta filamentis subulatis, antheris versatilibus ovalibus introrsis Ovarium trigonum. Styli 3 (raro 2-4), brevissimi, patuli, 

 stigmatibus dcpiv-^o-rajHtatis < untiibrmi-reniformibus indivisis laevibus. A ;i l;if ;i-trif L n«'ti-um (raro compressum 



vol 4-alatum), calycem sibi adpressum longe superans, periearpio tenui subcrustaceo, alis coriaceis vel membranaceis integris. Semen 

 erectum, triquetrnm. Embryo in axi albuminis farinosi rectus, radicula brevi supera, cotyledonibus foliaceis planis marginibus 

 samarae facies spectantibus. — Ilerbae perennes, Asiae occidentalism mediae et borealis Rossiaeque australis; rhizomate crasso I i<j Des- 

 cent*, caulibua epiym annuls, ereetis, crassis fistulosis vel nullis foliis latis, sacpe ampJiss'nn<s, L mhui) n\$, integris vel laciniatis, 

 ocreis membranaceis vaginantihm ln.ris manescentibus haud ciliatis ; floribus particulars vel spiciforwi-iwnnosis, albidis, roseis vel 

 smiiiu'nwis; pedirrllis fnsrit-idatis, capillaribus, infra medium articulatis, raro crassiusailis eontiiufis. /,d, /;/„>-, j,i,ii<>r'dn<s w/r /y „, b 

 sHDiiuiDris, ntnturis fuscis. (Meisn. in DC. Prodr. XIV, p. 32.) 



lol. 



R : radix elong 



:tura 3-5 pedalem , foliis br 



isuhitii, nvato-oblonga obtusj 



; rhisoma crassum breve, juxta ca 

 ieisque reflexis deorsum imbricatis 



L'rai'toriti emit- 

 latum et columnam conicam 



,! i ia in Lraclca- tran- 



, roseae, demum lacerae fuscescentes; bracteae diaphano- 

 caulinis conformes membranaceae stramineae nitidae supra convexae, superiores rubro- 

 is roseis inclusae, basi flabellato roseae; floras 6 andri et 2-4 gyni, virides, pedicellati, sepalis 

 breviter stipitatum; styli 2-4, stigmatibus capitatis; achaenia compressa vel 3-4 gona, 24 

 pulchra, habitu maxime insignis, in rupibus abruptis regionis Sikkim, 

 lont. Himalayae orientalis, alt. 13-15000 ped. a cl. J. D. Hooker detecta. — In hortos Europae e semin. vivis allata, anno 1874. 

 Kli.Muu nobile, Hook. fil. et Thorns. III. Himal. PL t. 19. — Ill.hortic. II, misc. p. 8 



marginatae; panicul 

 6 aequalibus oblong 

 alata, pendula, atrof 



lateribus tuberculatis. 



Nothing could be more appropriate than the term noble 

 applied to this magnificent plant by Dr. Hooker, who discov- 

 ered it nearly thirty years ago growing on rocky precipices of 

 the lofty mountains of Sikkim-Himalaya. This accomplished 

 botanist relates that he was struck with astonishment a 

 peculiar monumental aspect, when he saw it for the first 

 time rearing its conical column, as tall as a man, from 

 the crevices of the rocks, at an elevation exceeding 15000 

 feet above the level of the sea. At first, from the distance, 

 he was unable to recognise what family it belonged to, and 

 he was not a little surprised on approaching it to find that 

 it was a Rheum, wholly distinct in habit from all known 

 species of the genus. He brought seeds of it with* him to 

 Europe at the same time as the famous Sikkim Rhododen- 

 drons, which have immortalised his name as. a traveller- 

 but the plant was not to be had in gardens, and it was only 

 last year that a consignment of good seeds added this splen- 

 did species to our collections. Its long fusiform root lengthens 

 into a short thick rhizome, throwing up each year a simple 

 erect stem close to that of the preceding season attaining 



re of the same shape, gra- 

 rds and passing into similar 



- Meisn. in DC. Prodr. XIV, p. 36. 

 the height of a man, and probably taller under cultivation. 

 This stem is completely clothed with leaves and imbricated, 

 reflexed bracts forming the column of which we have already 

 spoken. The large radical leaves are ovate-oblong, obtuse, 

 cuneate at the base, of a brilliant shining green, arranged 

 in the form of a rosette. 



The cauline or stem-leaves i 

 dually diminishing in size upw 



translucent, membranous, bullate convex bracts, of a pale 

 colour above, the upper ones assuming a beautiful red tinge 

 on the margin. Independently of the colour of the bracts 

 and the flowers, this is a highly ornamental plant, whose 

 characters are given in detail in the preceding latin des- 

 cription. 



Considering the great altitude of its native habitat in 

 Sikkim, we may regard it as a hardy plant for our gardens, 

 where we may look forward to seeing it develop its full 

 beauty next year, judging from the flourishing young plants 

 now in Mr. Linden's establishment, which are very promising 

 in appearance. E. A. 



