Hi all, I’m looking for fresh rhubarb, the dried version is used in Chinese medicine but I’ve yet to see the vegetable itself, beyong growing it myself has anyone seen the actual plant available anywhere?
Whoa! If you mean the herb in Chinese medicine called Da Huang 大 黃, don’t even think of using it! Yes it is the root of a type of rhubarb, but it’s also potentially very lethal. It’s used in Chinese medicine as a purgative/laxative, and in formulas is always accompanied by liquorice, which oddly enough knocks out the re-polarising of the heart that can occur when taken alone.
HG
I bought some tinned imported stuff in Jasons a few months ago, but I think they were getting rid off them all. Sadly I didn’t get more than a few tins and I regret not getting more of them now as I haven’t seen it anywhere here since then 
Thx HGC and LostSwede. I checked on wikipedia both english and chinese version and found out about 大黃, which was pretty interesting. I remembered that it actually came from Himalayas and western China (interestingly many plants in the west were orginally domesticated in China, that fact is at least not propaganda) but I’ve never seen any here, grows in cold climates better I guess. It’s an interesting plant because the leaves are poisonous, rhubarb tart is a favourite in Ireland but you can only make it from the stalks. If you’ve never had it you are missing out, it’s got a great sour and sweet flavour (when mixed with sugar) and tastes like a fruit in some ways. I’m looking for the veg. itself, keep a look out but looks like I would have to grow my own.
Doesn’t proper rhubarb need a bit of frost on it? Not sure. EVERYONE had a rhubarb patch in their garden when I was a kid in Scotland.
It was also easy to grow in SA (south-western cape) which has a similar climate to Taiwan.
Why don’t you try to import some seeds (probably illegally) and grow it yourself?
Well I just asked me dear old mum and she said you should be able to grow it here, but you’ll have problems stopping it from “bolting” (whatever that means) because of the warmth.
[quote]If plants flower when we want them to, we call it blooming. But if plants flowers when we don’t want them to, we call it bolting. Flowering is an undesirable trait when growing rhubarb; therefore, bolting describes the event.
[/quote]
It should be a good thing to grow in the winter here when it’s not so warm, as Rhubarb tend to grow even in fairly cool weather.
Useless Rhubarb fact: It’s afaik the only “fruit” that grows wild in Iceland
It’s been a while, but does anyone have any idea where someone can buy some rhubarb on the island?