30th April: Rhubarb

Another French Revolutionary Calendar observance today: Rhubarb. Here are ten facts about rhubarb you may not know:

1. Rhubarb is a member of the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae) and botanically speaking, it’s a vegetable, not a fruit.
2. The word rhubarb comes from the Latin word "rhababarum" which means "root of the babarians." The Romans labelled people who ate rhubarb "barbarians."
3. It originated in Asia and the Chinese used the roots as a laxative. It is mentioned in The Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic which is thought to have been compiled about 2,700 years ago.
4. In medieval Europe rhubarb was highly prized and very expensive, due to the cost of transporting it from Asia. It was several times the price of other valuable herbs and spices such as cinnamon, opium, and Saffron. By the mid 1600's, rhubarb was double the price of opium in England. Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo noted in his report of his embassy in 1403–05 to Timur in Samarkand: "The best of all merchandise coming to Samarkand was from China: especially silks, satins, musk, rubies, diamonds, Pearls, and rhubarb..."
5. In temperate climates, rhubarb is one of the first food plants harvested, usually in mid- to late spring (April/May in the Northern Hemisphere). Rhubarb grown in hothouses is available before that. The first rhubarb to hit the market is forced rhubarb which is grown in the UK around Wakefield, Leeds, and Morley. This area has been nicknamed the "Rhubarb Triangle". It is grown in sheds with no light and is harvested by candlelight. This produces a sweeter, more tender stalk. West Yorkshire once produced 90% of the world's winter forced rhubarb.
6. The leaves are toxic, so never eat them. Rhubarb damaged by spring frost shouldn't be eaten either as the toxic substances in the leaves can migrate to the stems when this happens. During World War I rhubarb leaves were mistakenly recommended as a food source in Britain and several people were poisoned.
7. Though not often used today, the word ‘rhubarb’ can also mean ‘a heated argument or dispute,’ according to Merriam Webster. The word ‘rhubarb’ is known as the word actors mutter in order to simulate background conversation.
8. Rhubarb stalks can be eaten raw. A stick of rhubarb dipped in sugar used to be a common treat for children in the UK. It is still eaten this way in western Finland, Norway and Iceland. In Chile, Chilean rhubarb is sold on the street as a snack with salt or dried chilli pepper.
9. The Russians took rhubarb to Alaska in the 1800's because they thought it would protect the people from scurvy.
10. Quakers on the American East Coast were sent rhubarb seeds by Ben Franklin. They called it the "Persian Apple" because they saw it as an exotic fruit from somewhere in Asia.