The Fascinating World of Polygonaceae

The oddest Rhubarb I have seen is Rheum alexandre. Each of it's flowers has one very large, limegreen bracts that hangs down. This one is apparently very difficult to grow, but if habitat can give some clues, it lives in lush, marshy meadows and by streams in Western Sichuan, particularly where Yak have been kept.

The Rhubarb Compendium -- More than you ever wanted to know about rhubarb. Planting, growing, harvesting and using tips, as well as a history of use and more neat stuff written by total rhubarb keeners.

Other Edibles Other edible polygonum relatives include beets, sorrel and buckwheat. Beets are easy to grow in the vegetable garden. Sorrel is an excellent perennial vegetable, and tastes snappy as a fresh green. Cooked, it becomes like lemony spinach. Use a glass pot -- iron reacts with sorrel to turn it to a brown mush. Read more about Sorrel in this article by James M. Stephens, Professor at the Horticultural Sciences Department of the University of Florida in Gainesville.


There are other Polygonum relatives that make great garden plants. These include Atraphaxis, Chorizanthe, Fagopyrum, Homalocladium, Muelenbeckia, Oxyria, Polygonella and Rumex to name but a few. If you have questions about any of the Polygonum relatives, please visit the Polygonum discussion area and ask away. If you're shy, visit the area anyway -- your answer may already be there.

Great Polygonaceae Links
Polygonaceae Pictures
By Dr. Gerald (Gerry) Carr, Professor of Botany at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Botany Department

Images of Polygonaceae
From the Vascular Plant Image Gallery

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