971 



Wfyz Erca^ttrj? of SSotamn 



[eheu 



! girded by a reflexed cup-shaped membrane. 

 Their fruits consist of a pair of erect taper- 

 ing follicles, containing a number of flat- 

 tened seeds. 



R. stricta is widely distributed through 

 Western Asia, from Yemen in Arabia to the 

 Xorth-west Provinces of India. Its leaves, 

 which are very bitter, are collected and 

 sold in the bazaars in Scinde, the natives 

 using them in the preparation of cool 

 drinks in the hot weather. It is a stiff- 

 growing plant with erect stems two or 

 three feet high, and upright thickish 

 smooth leaves, placed rather close together 

 on the stem. [A. S.] 



RHEA. Bokmeria nivea and B. ittilis. 



RHEEDIA. A genus of trees or shrubs 

 found in Madagascar and tropical America 

 belonging to the Chisiacece, and numbering 

 about a dozen species, most of which were 

 formerly included in the Asiatic genus 

 : Garcinia, from which they differ in having 

 a calyx of two instead of four rounded 

 sepals to each flower. They have opposite 

 stalked entire leaves, with lance-shaped or 

 ovate oblong blades very leathery in tex- 

 ture and sometimes a foot in length; and 

 the flowers are small, white or greenish, the 

 : males and females on the same or on dif- 

 ; ferent trees, and arranged in clusters in the 

 1 axils of the leaves: the sterile with nu- 

 merous free stamens, and the fertile with 

 a three to five-celled ovary crowned with 

 , a shield-like stigma, succeeded by ovoid 

 ' berries with few seeds. The fruits of the 

 ; Wild Mamme of Jamaica, B. lateriflora, are 

 ! one to four inches long, yellow when ripe, 

 and have a pleasant acid taste, as have also 

 i those of B. edulis, a Panama species with 

 , fruits the size of hazel-nuts. [A. A. B.] 



1 RHETSA-MAUN. A name used by the 

 Telingas for Xanthoxylon Rhetsa. 



RHEOI. The technical name of the 

 genus more familiarly known as Rhubarb. 

 It is said to be derived from Bha, the an- 

 cient name of the Volga, on whose banks 

 the plants grow : but according to others it 

 comes from the Greek rheo ' to flow,' in allu- 

 sion to the purgative properties of the roots. 

 The genus is included in the Bolygonacece, 

 | and consists of several species, natives for 

 1 the most part of Central Asia. They are 

 perennials, with large rootstocks, from 

 which the large sheathing leaves and 

 flower-stalk3 are given off. The infloresence 

 consists of much-branched panicles bear- 

 ing a great number of whitish greenish or 

 pinkish flowers, which have a petaloid six- 

 parted perianth, enclosing nine stamens 

 attached to its base. The three-sided 

 | ovary is surmounted by three spreading 

 styles. Th e three-cornered f rui t is winged 

 and encircled at the base by the withered 

 remnants of the perianth. 



Owing to the fact that great part of the 

 district where the plants grow is as yet 

 unexplored by travellers, and to the jealous 

 reticence of the Chinese, the exact species 

 yielding the best medicinal Rhubarb is not 

 known with anythinglike certainty. What 

 is known in English commerce as the best 



Turkey Rhubarb in reality comes from 

 China through Russia by way of Kiaclita. 

 It was formerly imported from Natolia, 

 whence the name Turkey Rhubarb. The 

 root is said by Pallas to be dug up in the 

 summer, washed, bored with ahole, strung 

 on a thread, and dried in the sun. In this 

 state it is sent to the chief towns of China 

 and to the Russian frontier-town Kiachta : 

 at the latter place the drug undergoes care- 

 ful examination by the agents of the Rus- 

 sian Government, and all inferior or decay- 

 ed specimens are rejected. The odour of 

 the best samples is so delicate, that it is 

 stated that the assistants in the wholesale 

 drug-warehousesare not permitted totouch 

 it without gloves. The pieces are covered 

 with a fine yellow powder,and when broken 

 present a mottled red-and-yellow colour, 

 owing to the passage of a number of wavy 

 carmine-coloured streaks through the yel- 

 lowish-white matrix. Here and there are 

 small spots of a darker colour. 



The best Rhubarb has a bitter astringent 

 and somewhat aromatic taste, and feels 

 gritty to the teeth owing to the abundance 

 of small crystals of oxalate of lime which 

 are contained in it. Genuine powdered 

 rhubarb of this description is rarely to be 

 had, being generally mixed with the powder 

 of inferior sorts, such as Chinese and 

 English Rhubarb ; the latter being princi- 

 pally grown near Banbury in Oxfordshire, 

 and the species being B. Bhaponticum. It 

 is chieflyused toadulterate the more highly- 

 priced Rhubarb and is the sort sold by iti- 

 nerant vendors, some of whom carry the 

 delusion still further by arraying them- 

 selves in Oriental costume. English Rhu- 

 barb is of a light spongy texture ; its taste 

 is astringent and mucilaginous, but desti- 

 tute of the aromatic and gritty qualities 

 possessed by the more highly-esteemed 

 kinds. It is probable that with greater 

 care in the preparation, this kind might be 

 looked upon with more favour, as it appears 

 that there is very little difference in the me- 

 dicinal effects of home-grown and foreign 

 Rhubarb. In the Himalayas B. Emodi and 

 B. WeJManum, and possibly other kinds, 

 furnish Indian Rhubarb, which however is 

 not esteemed in this country. 



Rbubarb is largely employed medicinally 

 as a mild purgati vejn addition to which its 

 tonic and slightly astringent properties 

 render it useful as a stomachic in cases of 

 indigestion. These properties are said to 

 be due to the presence in the drug of cer- 

 tain resinous and crystalline substances. 

 Several species and varieties are cultivated 

 in this country for the sake of their leaf- 

 stalks, which form so agreeable a substitute 

 for fruit in pastry, etc. The leaves them- 

 selves are made use of in the fabrication of 

 fictitious cigars and tobacco. The shape of 

 the hairs however, as seen under a micro- 

 scope, is amply sufficient to enable the ob- 

 server to detect the presence or absence of 

 tobacco, but it is not so easy to determine 

 the source of the fraudulent admixtures. 

 Some of the species are very handsome 

 owing to the boldness of their foliage and , 

 the elegance of their inflorescence. They ! 



