RHEUM 



bearing numerous greenish (is. that give a feathery ef- 

 fect to' the panicle: akene red. winceil. Thibet and W. 

 China, on high table-lands. B.:\I. r,!:;:,. R.H. 1874, p. 95. 

 Gn 3.1, p. 243; 48, pp. 199. 'Jus. - l']■,.ll,ll,l^ the best plant 

 of the genus for general .iili i\ :(i n.n. making a most 

 striking foliage plant. It i- lr..in tii.- >liyrt, thick, 

 branching stetn or caudex oi thi> [ilaiii that niost of the 

 true officinal Rhubarb is derived. Although known to the 

 Chinese for centuries and the product long imported into 

 Europe, the plant was not described liotauically until 

 1872. Fig. 2099 is adapted from Th.- (iardeu. 



B. acuminatum. Hook, f- \- Tl I' ■'' iJ'v only a small 



form of R. Eraodi, witli .aeiiniii! ■ iK are consid- 



erably larger, and though Ion;: i i n it does not at 



tain half the size of that phr, . i . r. rl,ara.-ter."- 

 Hooker. Himalayas. B.M. t-T: / !t ■>! f .V Tlioni. 



Stem simple and densely clot 1' ! ' 'I -i.^u n ^\ ;ird- jjj_ aero; 



pointing bracts that conceal th. i m Us. few-tld 



ovate-oblong or rounded, eiitir. \ i- , the ■ 



shingled bracts are torn aw;, v iw ti,. .:■.,,■:■ i. ,,,i._ ■ ,. Imig cuived , 

 panicleexposed. 3 ft. Himalajti-.. I;,U, l.^.i., j,. Jiit.. Ill ll:Mt. back. J 

 G.C. II. 13:793. A remarkable alpine plant. -A'. 7,',7„,v, Linn. to Fla., V 

 3-5 ft.; Ivs. 1 ft. .across, cordate to reniform. the nitirgins 

 crisped or undulate, the blade puckered or blistered: lis. OC. 



green, drooping: frs. about 1 in. long, oblong-cordate, narrow- 

 winged, blood-red, showy. Asia Minor to Persia. B.M. 75yi. 

 " Rivas " or " Ribes " is its Arabic name. — R. spicifdrine, Royle. 

 Dwarf: Ivs. thick, orbicular or broadly ovate: fis. white, in a 

 dense spike rising about 2 ft. Western Himalaya. 



EHEmHATISM BOOT. Jeffersonia Unata. 



RH£XIA (Greek, rupture; referring to its supposed 

 properties of healing). Melastom&cem. Meadow 

 Beauty. A genus of about 10 species of N. American 

 perennial herbs, with opposite sessile or short-petioled, 

 3-5-nerved Ivs. and showy flowers borne in late summer. 

 Fls. terminal, solitary or in cymes; caly.\-tube urn- to 

 bell shaped narrowed at the neck 4 lobed ■ petals 4, 

 ohovate «tamens 8 equal the connective being thick- 

 ened at the base with or without a spui at the back. 



Bhexia Viigimca is found wild in companj with 

 side saddle plants (Smuu m / / mini, i t md cranber- 

 ries in the low meadows t '\1 1 liii tt It is what 

 we should call a bog pliiit Ii i i | i tt\ low grow- 

 ing tuberous rooted plant 11 iniii. iii ummer and 

 chiefly interesting as hem^ ii t 1 w pecies of a 

 genus belonging to a fimih ilin t w h ll\ composed 

 of shrubby plants from ti i i il uiitius such as 

 Centradenii Pleroma and Ah Im 11; It increases by 

 means of tubers and seeds uid uu 1 t uitible condi- 



■i- 'V"~!/: 



tions soon makes large clumps. Tubers potted in the 

 autumn and kept in a coldframe force nicely in spring- 

 time. 



A. Stem eylindrieal. 

 Mariana, Linn. A slender, erect, usually simple- 

 stemmed plant with reddish purple lis. about 1 in. 

 across, in loose cymes: Ivs. short-petioled, oblong to 

 linear oblong, 1-1!^ in. long, 2-,5 lines wide, 3-nerved: 

 anthers minutely spurred at the back. June-Sept. 

 Pine barrens, N. .J. to Fla., west to Ky. B.B. 2:474.- 

 Grows in drier places than M. V'lrginica. 



1513 



AA. Stem angled. 

 B. Petals yellow. 

 \tXea., Walt. Stem becoming much branched, 1 ft. 

 high: Ivs. smooth, serrulate, the lower obovate and ob- 

 tuse, the upper lanceolate and acute: fls. small, in nu- 

 merous cymes. July, Aug. Pine- 

 barren swamps, N. C. to Fla. and 

 west. 



BB. Petals not yellow. 



c. Lvs. 6-10 lilies long. 



ciliosa, Michs. Stem nearly 



simple, 1-2 ft. high: lvs. ovate, 



sessile or very short-petioled, 3- 



nerved: fls. violet-purple, l-H., 



sho 



- ped 



elleil 



La. 



ips, Ind 



OC. Lvs. 1-2 in. long. 

 Virginioa, Linn. Fig. 2100. 

 Roots tuber-bearing: stems about 

 1 ft. high, branched above and 

 usually clustered, forming a com- 

 pact, bushy plant : lvs. sessile, 

 ovate, acute, rounded or rarely 

 narrowed at the base, 1-2 m. by 

 }4-l in., usually 5-nerved : fls. 

 rosy, 1-1 H in. across, in cymes; 

 petals rounded or slightly refuse; 

 anthers minutely spurred on the 

 back. July-Sept. Sunny swamps, 



Fla., 



Mo. 



474. B.M. 968. -This is one of 

 the prettiest of the small wild 

 flowers. When transplanted, it 

 seems to thrive as well in good 

 clay loam as in peaty soils, 

 although it sometimes 

 grows in the latter. ST ' 



F. W. Barclay and 



T. D. Hatfield. 



EHINE-BEHEY. Wuim- 



EHIPID6PTEKIS is 



2100. Rhcxia Vireinica. 



EHlFSAIIS (Greek, »7ii>s, wickerwork). Cactdeece. 

 L mixed assemblage of lengthened epiphytic forms, 

 Tought together by a common character of small fls.. 



