Rhubarb Rhubarb is
a member of the sorrel family, and grows in the
wild in western and northwestern provinces of
China. It is grown commercially in much of Europe
and the United States. The name rhubarb comes from
the Medieval Latin reubarbarum, literally meaning
barbarian rhubarb. It is part of the Asian
buckwheat family. Rhubarb originally came from the
steppes of Asia over 2000 years ago. There it was
used as medicine. Its roots were ground up and used
as a purgative, or an old version of ex-lax.
Rhubarb didn't give people the stomach cramps of
other purgatives and soon became a favorite in
western countries as well. Rhubarb is
a perennial plant with large fleshy roots and large
leaves with long, thick stems. The plant grows to
be about 2 to 3 feet under cultivation, but doesn't
grow over 1 foot in the wild. It likes climates
where the spring is wet and cool. The stems
are harvested in the early spring. Only the stems
of rhubarb are 2000
bibliography: "Rhubarb Background", http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/rhubarb-background.html "Medicinal Uses", http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/rhubarb-medicinal.htm
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