RHEUM 



KHIPSALIS 



1513 



bearing numerous greenish Hs. that give :i feathery ef- 

 fect t'> the panicle: akene red. winged. Tliii.et and W. 

 China, on high table-lands. B.M. fjloo. K.H. iy74, p. 95. 

 Gn 3>, p. 124:^; 48, pp. 199, 208. -Probably the l^-st phmt 

 of the genus for general cultivation, making a most 

 striking foliage plant. It is from tht- short, thick, 

 branching stem or caudfX of this plant that most of the 

 true ofhciual Rhubarb is derived. Although kuown to the 

 Chinese for centuries and the product long imported into 

 Europe, the plant was not described b^^tanically until 

 1872. Fig. 2099 is adapted from The Garden. 



R. acuminata 1)1. Hook. f. i:- Thorn. "Probably only a small 

 form of R. Emodi. with acuminate Ivs.. but the tls, are cnnsiil- 

 erably larger, and tliou>,di long under eulrivatiuu it does nut at 

 tain half the size of that plant, or vary in its character. "— 

 Hooker. Himalayas. B.M. 4S77.— ii\ nohiJc. Hook. f. & Thorn. 

 Stem simple and densely clothed with inibricated downward- 

 pointinLi hraets that i-om-eal the short axilhiry peduncles: Ivs. 

 ovate-oblong or rounded, entire. When the fniit is ripe, tlie 

 shingled l.iraets are torn away l.ty the winds, leaving The long 

 pauieleexposed. ^>ft. Himalavas. R.H. 187(j. p. -UO. I.H. ■JL'i'Jn'.i. 

 G.C. II. l;!:79;{. A remarkable alpine plant.— A'. J^ibrs, Linn. 

 3-0 ft.: Ivs. 1 ft. across, cordate to reniform. the margins 

 crisped or undtilate. the blade puckered or blistered: lis. 

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

 winged, blood-red, showy. Asia Minor to Persia. B.M. 7.")!)!. 

 "Kivas" or"Ribes"is its Arabic name. — E. spiciforme, Koyle. 

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

 deuse spike rising about 2 ft. Western Himalaya. 



L. H. B. 



RHEUMATISM ROOT. Jeffersonla hiuafa. 



RHflXIA (Greek, yiipfnt-e; referring to its supposed 

 properties of healing). MeJa.-^toniitcefc. 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; calyx-tnl>e urn- to 

 bell-shaped, narrowed at the neck, 4-lobed: petals 4, 

 obovate; stamens 8, equal, the connective being thick- 

 ened at the base, with or without a spur at the hack. 



Rhexia Virgiiiica is found wild in company with 

 side-saddle plants {Sarraceuia par/-'urea ) and crardier- 

 ries in the low meadows of Massachusetts. It is what 

 we should call a bog plant. It is a pretty, low-grow- 

 ing, tuberous -rooted plant blooming in summer and 

 chiefly interesting as being one of few species of a 

 genus" belonging to a family almost wholly composed 

 of shrubby plants from tropical countries, such as 

 Centradenia. Pleroma and Medinella. It increases by 

 means of tubers and seeds, and under suitable condi- 



2099 Rheum oflicma e 



tions soon makes large clumps. Tubers potted in the 

 autumn and kept in a cohlframe force nicely in spring- 

 time. 



A. Sfri)} rjiJindrlci'ih 



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

 stemmed plant with reddish purple ris. ah.iut 1 in. 

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

 linear oblong, I-IV2 in. lon^, 2-5 lines wide, :i-nerved; 

 anthers minutely spurred at the back. June-Sept. 

 Pine barrens. N."j. to Fla., we^t to Ky. B.B. 2:474.- 

 Grows in drier places than K. ['injinicn. 



AA. Stem (nif/hfd. 

 B. Prfals ifdhnc. 



liitea, 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. antl 

 west. 



BB. PcfaJs not yclhnr. 

 c. Lf.'s. 6-10 Uiie.-< Unt'j. 

 cilidsa, Miehx. Stem nearly 

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

 sessile or very short-petioled, :i- 

 nerved : fls. viulet-purple, 1-1 '2 

 in. across, short - pedicelleii. i 

 few - rid. cymes ; a n t h e r s m 

 curved and not spurred at tl 

 liaek. .Tune-Aug. Swamps. In* 

 to Fla., west to La. 



cc. Lr.s. 1-2 ill. h'liij. 

 Virginica, Linn. Fig. 2100. 

 Koots tuber-bearing; stems about 

 1 ft. high, branched above and 

 usually clustered, forming a com- 

 pact, bushy plant : Ivs. sessile, 

 ovate, acute, rounded or rarely 

 narrowed at the base, 1-2 in. by 

 ?-2-l in., usually 5-nerved : fls. 

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

 petals rounded or slightly retuse; 

 anthers minutely spurred on the 

 back. Julv-Sept. Sunnv swamjis, 

 Me. to Fla., west to Mo. B.B.l^: 

 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. 



F. W. Bakplay and 



T. D. Hatfield. 



RHmE- BEERY. Blunn- 

 UHS catlui.rtica . 



RHIPIDODENDRON. See 



Aloe. 



RHIPID6PTERIS is un- 

 der AerosiirJiiiiii . 



2100. Rhcxia Vireinica. 



RHiPSALIS (Greek, r7;//;5, wickerwork). CactCtcecp. 

 A mixed assemblage of lengthened epiphytic forms, 

 brought together by a common character of small fls., 

 with the tube short or wanting; here including Hariota, 

 Lepismium and Pfeitl'era. Fls. white or greenish white, 

 except -??. cerei for lids, rosy, and /i*. sdHeorrtioidex, _2?. 

 prielijfptera and 1\. rhoDilnn , yellow. Frnit without 

 spines or wool, except in /i'. rrrcifuritiis. For cultnre, 

 see Cuefiis. 



INIiEK. 



2. Saglionis 



:!. mesembriaiitliemoiiies 



