Rhubarb
Rheum × hybridum · Knotweed family
Plant portrait
Garden rhubarb carries broad leaves on thick green or red stalks.
Harvested part
Only the leaf stalks; the leaf blades must not be eaten.
What to watch for
Distinguish the fleshy stalk from the leaf blade; colour alone does not establish harvest readiness.
Growth stages of the rhubarb
Plotilo illustrates the rhubarb in 5 stages in 3D: seed, small sprout, young plant, growing and harvest. The models show typical shapes; they do not predict how long growth takes.
- Seed
Starting from a seed. It is shown on the surface to make it visible in this illustration.
- Small sprout
A short first stem and its first small leaves emerge.
- Young plant
The young plant carries more leaves and starts to take its own shape.
- Growing
Leaves and stems develop. Their shape depends on the species.
- Harvest
An illustration of the harvested part. Roots are made visible for clarity; this image does not confirm actual maturity.
Same botanical family
Same botanical family as the rhubarb (the knotweed family): the patience dock. Gardeners usually avoid growing the same family in the same spot several years in a row: that is the idea behind crop rotation.