Mary B. Healy, age 12, of Norwood, Massachusetts, for her question:

Where did the rhubarb originate?

When the people of Rome chose a name for this juicy, springtime dessert plant, they used their word for wandering tribes of uncivilized barbarians, especially the Mongol hordes that roamed the eastward region around the Volga River. From this, we might suspect that our civilized rhubarb plant originated in the realm of the barbaric Mongols. And indeed it did.

In ancient times, the realm of the Mongols was immense. At various periods of history Mongolia subdued China and India, other parts of Asia, Persia and sections of Europe.

We know that ages before the Romans discovered the rhubarb, its fleshy stems were being eaten in China and Tibet. The peoples of these lands had also learned to use the medicinal chemicals stored in the roots. In fact, most evidence suggests the rhubarb originated in or near Tibet. When the Mongolians came, they took it with them and introduced the plant throughout their vast realm. The leafy shrub bears seeds. But its leaves may be poisonous and its seeds may not produce plants like their parents. Hence, the plant was introduced around the world by transplanting pieces of loots from parent plants back home.