BUCKWHEAT FAMILY 



the seed begins to mature, the calyx browns and the stems take 

 on a strain of crimson and scarlet. When the seed is fully ripe 

 it contains an excellent farina which is a substitute for that of 

 cereals. Buckwheat is one of the farmer's late crops; it will 

 grow in poor soils, requires little care, and ripens quickly. 



PIE-PLANT. RHUBARB 



Rheum rhaponticum. 



Rha, the Greek name for the species, was the ancient name of the 

 Volga River; the first recorded specimens of the plant were procured 

 from the banks of the Volga. 



A strong perennial with thick, clustered roots, grown very generally 

 throughout the United States for the succulent, add petioles of the 

 radical leaves which are used in early spring for pies and sauces. Native 

 to northern and western Asia. Several garden varieties are in culti- 

 vation. May, June. 



Root. — Tuberous, large, reddish-brown. 



Flowering stem. — Three to five feet high, hollow, bearing large, termi- 

 nal, racemose flower panicles which burst out from large white bracts; 

 each leaf has a stipular sheath. 



Radical leaves. — Very large, cordate-ovate, undulate or entire, acute 

 at apex, glabrous and shining above, pubescent on the veins beneath, 

 twelve to twenty-four inches long. 



Petioles. — Four to ten inches long, large, semi-cyhndric, fleshy, loaded 

 with a pleasant acid juice. 



Flowers. — Small, whitish, borne in tall, leafy, densely flowered pani- 

 cles; the pedicles jointed below the middle. 



PeWa«//f.— Six-parted, greenish with white margins, spreading. 



Stamens. — Six or nine. 



Ovary. — Three-angled and bearing three styles. 



Fruit. — An akene, with three-winged angles. 



De Candolle named our Pie-plant the Rhubarb-from-Pontus; 

 its native land, however, is not limited to Pontus, but includes 

 Siberia as well as western Asia. 



Like the celery; the Rhubarb is cultivated for its leaf stalks; 

 both leaf and root are worthless; it is the large, juicy, sue- 



