213 RHEUM OFFICINALE 



flowering-branches,, shortly stalked or nearly sessile, very much 

 smaller, somewhat triangular, more deeply cut. Flowering- 

 branches several, reaching a height of 5 8 feet or more, hollow, 

 green, thick, striate, nearly smooth, terminating in the much- 

 branched inflorescence. Flowers small, about J of an inch long, on 

 slender drooping pedicels somewhat exceeding them in length, which 

 are thickened at the end and have an articulation a little below the 

 middle, arranged in clusters of 7 10, with a single, small, orange- 

 coloured bract at the base ; clusters densely crowded on all sides 

 of the axis, and together forming a stalked, cylindrical, drooping, 

 catkin-like inflorescence, tapering to a point ; these terminate the 

 divaricate cylindrical branchlets of the flowering-stems and the 

 'whole forms an elegant pyramidal head or compound panicle; 

 branches of the inflorescence striate, densely pilose, with crowded 

 short hairs on the ribs, buds globular ; larger bracts early deci- 

 duous. Perianth-leaves 6, hypogynous, obovate-oblong, blunt, 

 nearly glabrous, very slightly connected below, pale greenish- 

 white with whiter borders, imbricate in two rows, nearly equal, 

 the 3 inner somewhat longer, concave, never spreading. Stamens 

 9, hypogynous, about as long as the perianth, 3 opposite each of 

 the inner perianth-leaves, the central one of each 3 somewhat 

 longer than the others, and apparently forming an inner row, 

 anthers ovate-oblong, innate, pale lemon-yellow. Disk large and 

 prominent, surrounding the base of the ovary, consisting of 9 

 fleshy, blunt, bright and shining, dark green lobes alternating 

 with the stamens, distinct or variously united ; ovary not half the 

 length of the stamens, 3-sided, tapering, smooth, pale green, 

 1 -celled ; styles 3, spreading or reflexed ; stigma large, capitate, 

 reflexed over the edges of the ovary, pink. Fruit in small 

 clusters, about J an inch long by somewhat over J of an inch 

 broad, pendulous, on stalks about | their length which disarticu- 

 late below the middle, surrounded at the base by the per- 

 sistent, slightly enlarged, purplish perianth-leaves, triangular in 

 section and tapering, but with a large wing at each angle much 

 wider at the apex than the base, so that the shape of each 

 face is broadly oblong; wing cordate at the base and apex, 



