Rhubarb
History, Healing, Health and Metaphysical Properties
Rhubarb is a fascinating plant whose long history encompasses traditional medicine, food, folklore and modern herbalism.
Best known today for its tart, colourful stalks, rhubarb has a much older history as a medicinal plant. For centuries, species of rhubarb were valued in China, Central Asia and the Middle East for their roots, which were used as a powerful digestive remedy. Only much later did rhubarb become popular in Europe as a culinary plant.
Scientifically, rhubarb belongs to the genus Rheum and the family Polygonaceae, the same botanical family that includes sorrel and buckwheat. The familiar garden rhubarb is generally Rheum × hybridum, a group of cultivated hybrids descended from Asian species. The plant is perennial, producing enormous leaves from a crown beneath the soil and thick, fleshy leaf stalks that may range from green to vivid red.
The History of Rhubarb
Rhubarb’s medicinal history is considerably older than its culinary history. Various species of Rheum were used in traditional Chinese medicine for many centuries. The dried root was particularly important and was known for its effects upon the digestive system.
Chinese rhubarb, particularly Rheum palmatum and Rheum tanguticum, was traded extensively across Asia. Its dried roots became a valuable commodity, eventually finding their way along the great trade routes connecting China with Central Asia, Persia and the Middle East.
The plant was known in medieval Europe largely as an imported medicine rather than as a vegetable. Because the rhubarb root travelled such enormous distances before reaching European markets, it could be extremely expensive. Historical records indicate that European physicians regarded rhubarb as an important medicinal substance, particularly for digestive complaints.
By the eighteenth century, rhubarb began to be cultivated more extensively in Europe. British gardeners developed varieties specifically for their edible stalks, and rhubarb gradually changed from an exotic medicinal import into a familiar garden plant.
In Britain, forced rhubarb became particularly associated with Yorkshire. The famous “Rhubarb Triangle” between Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford became an important centre of commercial rhubarb production. Rhubarb was traditionally grown in dark forcing sheds, where warmth and darkness encouraged the stalks to grow rapidly and become tender.
Rhubarb as a Food
The part of garden rhubarb normally eaten is the stalk, or petiole. Its distinctive sourness comes largely from organic acids, particularly oxalic and malic acids. Because raw rhubarb stalks are extremely tart, they are commonly cooked with sugar or other sweet ingredients.
Rhubarb is traditionally used in pies, crumbles, tarts, jams, sauces and desserts. It also combines particularly well with fruits such as strawberries, apples and ginger.
One important distinction must always be made: the leaves should not be eaten. Rhubarb leaves contain relatively high concentrations of oxalic acid and other compounds and can be poisonous. The edible stalks contain much less oxalic acid and are generally considered safe when eaten as food in normal quantities.
Traditional Healing Uses
Rhubarb’s reputation as a medicinal plant largely comes from its root rather than its stalk.
Traditional preparations of rhubarb root were used as a digestive medicine. Depending upon the preparation and dose, rhubarb root was historically regarded as having either a laxative or an astringent effect. This apparently contradictory behaviour reflects the complex chemistry of the root and the quantities used.
The anthraquinone compounds found in rhubarb root can stimulate intestinal movement and promote bowel evacuation. For this reason, rhubarb preparations were historically used for occasional constipation.
Traditional herbal medicine also associated rhubarb root with digestive cleansing and the regulation of intestinal function. However, medicinal rhubarb root should not be confused with culinary rhubarb stalks, and concentrated preparations should not be used casually.
Health Properties
Rhubarb stalks can form part of a healthy diet. They are naturally low in calories and provide dietary fibre as well as small amounts of vitamins and minerals.
Rhubarb contains vitamin K, which contributes to normal blood clotting and maintenance of bones. It also contains vitamin C and various antioxidant compounds.
Its red colour in some varieties comes partly from plant pigments such as anthocyanins. These compounds have antioxidant activity in laboratory studies and are one reason colourful fruits and vegetables are often regarded as valuable components of a varied diet.
The fibre found in rhubarb can contribute to normal digestive health by supporting regular bowel function. As with other vegetables and fruits, however, rhubarb should be viewed as one component of an overall balanced diet rather than as a treatment for illness.
Antioxidant Properties
Rhubarb contains several polyphenolic compounds with antioxidant activity. Antioxidants help protect cells from oxidative stress caused by reactive molecules within the body.
Laboratory research has investigated rhubarb compounds for their potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Such findings are interesting, but laboratory or animal studies do not automatically demonstrate that eating rhubarb will prevent or treat a particular human disease.
Digestive Health
The edible stalk provides fibre, which can support healthy bowel function. Historically, however, the medicinal root was valued much more strongly as a digestive remedy.
Because concentrated rhubarb-root preparations can act as laxatives, prolonged or excessive use may cause diarrhoea, dehydration and disturbances in electrolytes. Medicinal use therefore requires considerably more caution than eating cooked rhubarb stalks.
Rhubarb and Modern Medicine
Modern science has confirmed that rhubarb contains numerous biologically active compounds, including anthraquinones, tannins, polyphenols and organic acids. Researchers have investigated these substances for antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and gastrointestinal effects.
Nevertheless, traditional use and laboratory evidence should not be confused with established medical treatment. Rhubarb is not a cure for serious disease, and medicinal rhubarb preparations can interact with the body’s normal fluid and electrolyte balance.
People who are pregnant, taking medication, have kidney problems, or have other medical conditions should seek professional advice before using rhubarb root medicinally.
Rhubarb in Folklore and Symbolism
Although rhubarb does not possess the extensive mythology associated with plants such as yew, mugwort or oak, its characteristics lend themselves naturally to symbolic interpretation.
Rhubarb is a plant of renewal and regeneration. It disappears into the earth during winter and returns vigorously in spring, producing enormous leaves and strong stalks. This makes it an appropriate symbol of resurrection, renewal and the return of life after dormancy.
Its strong sourness also gives it associations with contrast and balance. Rhubarb can be unpleasantly sharp on its own, yet becomes delicious when combined with sweetness. Symbolically, this can represent the transformation of difficult experiences into something constructive.
Metaphysical Properties
In contemporary magical and metaphysical practice, rhubarb can be given several symbolic correspondences based upon its physical characteristics and traditional associations.
Protection
Because rhubarb produces large leaves and vigorous growth, it can symbolise a protective barrier. Some modern practitioners may therefore use rhubarb symbolically in protective workings, particularly those concerned with establishing boundaries.
Its large leaves can be viewed as representing shelter and the ability to shield oneself from unwanted influences.
Banishing and Removal
The traditional purgative reputation of rhubarb root has contributed to symbolic associations with cleansing, removal and banishing.
In magical symbolism, rhubarb can represent the removal of stagnant circumstances, unwanted habits or influences. It may therefore be incorporated symbolically into rituals intended to clear away what is no longer useful.
Transformation
Rhubarb’s transformation from an intensely sour raw stalk into a sweet and enjoyable cooked food makes it an interesting symbol of transformation.
It can represent the ability to take something difficult, challenging or apparently unpleasant and transform it into something useful. This makes rhubarb particularly appropriate for spells concerned with personal growth, resilience and turning adversity into opportunity.
Prosperity and Abundance
The plant’s vigorous spring growth and large leaves can also associate it with abundance and fertility. A flourishing rhubarb patch produces generously year after year, making it a suitable symbol for prosperity, growth and the rewards of patience.
Grounding
As a perennial plant with a substantial root system, rhubarb may be used symbolically for grounding and connection with the earth. Its seasonal cycle encourages contemplation of rest, regeneration and returning to one’s foundations.
Magical Correspondences
Contemporary practitioners who work with plant correspondences might associate rhubarb with:
Element: Earth
Qualities: Protection, cleansing, transformation, renewal, prosperity
Magical purposes: Banishing, boundary-setting, grounding, abundance and personal transformation
Season: Spring
Colours: Green, red and pink
Planetary associations: Earth and, symbolically, Saturn for boundaries and limitation
Energy: Protective, cleansing and regenerative
These correspondences are modern or interpretive rather than ancient, historically documented religious associations. As with many forms of modern witchcraft, practitioners may develop their own correspondences according to personal experience.
Rhubarb in Herbal Magic
For magical purposes, rhubarb can be incorporated into symbolic workings involving growth and renewal. A gardener might, for example, contemplate the return of rhubarb each spring as a representation of one’s own ability to recover and begin again.
The plant can also be included symbolically in rituals concerning boundaries. Its enormous leaves create a natural visual image of protection and shelter, while its roots suggest connection with the earth.
Because the leaves are toxic, however, they should never be used in teas, food, incense or other preparations intended for ingestion or inhalation. Magical symbolism does not remove the plant’s physical toxicity.
Rhubarb and the Cycles of Nature
Perhaps rhubarb’s most interesting spiritual lesson is its relationship with seasonal cycles.
During winter, the visible growth dies back and the plant retreats into the earth. With the arrival of spring, new shoots emerge and rapidly develop into large leaves and strong stalks.
This makes rhubarb a useful spiritual metaphor for the cycle of death, dormancy, rebirth and renewal. It reminds us that periods of apparent inactivity need not represent an ending. Beneath the surface, regeneration may already be taking place.
For this reason, rhubarb can be particularly meaningful in spring rituals, seasonal celebrations and personal workings centred on new beginnings.
Rhubarb is far more than the familiar ingredient in a traditional British crumble. Its history stretches back through the medicinal traditions of Asia and the ancient trade routes that carried its valuable root westwards. Eventually, European gardeners transformed rhubarb from an expensive medicinal import into one of the world’s best-known edible garden plants.
Rhubarb and custard anyone…?
