Pink champagne rhubarb or red chard?

[Inastate]

Quick plant ID here. My mam bought some Pink champagne rhubarb roots, and there are two plants growing in roughly that area. However, to me they look nothing like any rhubarb that I've seen; they look like red chard (which I've planted elsewhere in my garden).

Does anybody know what it is? If it's chard I'll tend to it in my raised beds, but I don't want to be eating any if it's rhubarb!

Thanks. Piccie:

[veggiechicken]

Looks a bit like beetroot!
Pull a leaf and see what the stalk look like.

[roitelet]

That's rhubarb chard and quite edible. Rhubarb has very different leaves and the stems are much thicker.

[Inastate]

Hmm, I did plant some rhubarb/ruby red chard in the summer, although not in this position.

The stems are orange on the inside and red on the inside. Another piccie:



It certainly looks nothing like any rhubarb I've ever seen, but I know they are related.

[sparrow100]

It certainly looks nothing like any rhubarb I've ever seen, but I know they are related.

Erm, no. They aren't. Rhubarb is from the buckwheat family, chard is from the beet family.

You can eat the leaves from the beet family. If you eat rhubarb leaves you will be ill and you could even die.

[Nicos]

Chard!
I was intending growing some in tubs this year instead of flowers.
....maybe next year!

[rosiepumpkin]

It's a weed. Compost heap. I can't believe people actually eat that chard stuff.

[Nicos]

Ha!...we're eating it a lot in chunky soups at the moment...yummy!

[Alison]

Chard is great so long as you cook the leaves and stems separately. Chard pesto is one of our favourites

[bazzaboy]

It's a weed. Compost heap. I can't believe people actually eat that chard stuff.

LOL.... And one of my favourites! But you're right, Rosie, they're all weeds, chard just happens to be one of my favourite weeds. Along with weed kale and weed PSB.

[bazzaboy]

T&M Red Chard on the left and T&M Champagne Rhubarb on the right....

Notable differences seem to be thickness of stems, vibrancy of the "red", and in the case of the chard (and your example, Inastate) the red colouring seems to flow into the veins of the leaf.

p.s. If you're going to move it to your chard patch (and it won't be too disturbed by moving) you can easily confirm the conclusion because the roots are very different.... Chard has a hairy tap-root structure whereas rhubarb has a chunky rhizome.

[Penellype]

My guess is you have bought something that should have been labelled Rhubarb Chard, but someone has mistakenly put it in the rhubarb section and nobody has noticed.

[Scarlet]

It's a weed. Compost heap. I can't believe people actually eat that chard stuff.

I eat it weekly! Delicious, stems chopped smal and saut�ed in a little butter and water with onion and garlic until soft. Wash the leaves, shred and dump them ontop (large pan) still wet and put the lid on tight until really wilted. Finsh with a drizzle of cream. my OH can eat buckets of it.

[Scarlet]

I think you also have a leaf miner problem. Chop the affected leaves off and bin them.

[Scarlet]

LOL.... And one of my favourites! But you're right, Rosie, they're all weeds, chard just happens to be one of my favourite weeds. Along with weed kale and weed PSB.

All favourites in this house too...