rhean.1
/rɪə/, /ˈriːə/, U.S. /ˈriə/ Either of two flightless South American birds constituting the genus Rhea and family Rheidae, which are the smallest of the ostrich-like birds and have relatively large wings; (a) (more fully greater rhea, common rhea, or grey rhea) the greyish brown R. americana; (b) (more fully lesser rhea or Darwin's rhea) the smaller, brown R. pennata. Also (in form Rhea): the genus itself.Valid publication of the genus name: M.-J. Brisson Ornithologia (1760) I. 8. The lesser rhea is sometimes placed in a different genus, Pterocnemia.
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the world > animals > birds > superorder Ratitae (flightless) > [noun] > rhea americana (rhea)
ostrich1581
emu1774
rhea?1787
?1787 W. F. Mavor New Dict. Nat. Hist. II Rhea, in the Linnean system, a species of the struthio, or ostrich; synonymous with the nhamdoguacu of the Brazilians.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 38/2 According to the new classification of Dr. Latham, it [sc. the genus Struthio] forms, along with the dodo, cassuarius, and rhea, a separate order.
1860 P. H. Gosse Romance Nat. Hist. 201 The rheas, which are the representatives of the ostrich in South America, inhabit regions presenting many of the characteristics of the African plains.
1884 Longman's Mag. Jan. 293 The South American rheas have real wings with real feathers in them.
1901 Ibis Apr. 343 In Rhea we have represented the proto-carinate wing-type of to-day.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xx. 585 In the case of the emu and the South American ostrich or Rhea, the cock bird does all the brooding.
1966 R. Silverberg Forgotten by Time 97 Darwin saw a rhea on his Beagle voyage, and wrote that it ‘presented a very noble appearance’.
2005 Global Aug.–Sept. 48/3 Flocks of rhea, a kind of ungainly ostrich.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
rhean.2
/rɪə/, /ˈriːə/, U.S. /ˈriə/α. 1800s– rhea, 1800s– rheea.
β. 1800s– reha, 1800s– riha, 1900s– recha (rare).
More fully †rhea nettle, rhea plant: any of several plants of the tropical Asian genus Boehmeria (family Urticaceae); esp. the fibre-producing ramie, B. nivea, and its variety B. nivea var. tenacissima (formerly regarded as a separate species). Also: the fibre obtained from any of these plants. Cf. ramie n. 1.
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the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > Asian
Japan allspice1789
ramie1817
kaffir lime1824
luculia1826
rice-paper plant1832
pith plant1834
chimonanthus1836
jiti1836
rhea1837
leycesteria1838
wintersweet1846
crape-myrtle1850
skimmia1853
China-grass1858
taccada1866
saxaul1874
white kerria1900
sarcococca1914
1837 Trans. Agric. & Hort. Soc. India 3 137 This is a bundle of the Rheea of Assam, (Urtica nivea).
1855 Royle Fibrous Pl. India 363 The Ramee or Rheea Nettle.
1861 R. Bentley Man. Bot. ii. iii. 636 B. speciosa (Wild Rhea).
1884 Weekly Scotsman 9 Feb. 1/7 The rhea, China grass, or ramie plant, as it is variously called, is said to possess the strongest fibre in nature.
1898 Bull. Misc. Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) 209 Ramie or Rhea is obtained from B. tenacissima, which has mature leaves green underneath, and in this country can only be grown under glass.
1907 Gardeners' Chron. 19 Jan. 35/3 We have the first plantations in South Africa of Boehmeria nivea, the Rheea, Ramie, or China Grass. The fibre is now offered in the London market.
1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) ii. xviii. 535 ‘China grass’ or ‘rhea’ (nivea) is a herbaceous perennial with stems 3 to 6 feet high.
1961 Jrnl. Econ. & Social Hist. Orient 4 57 In Assam it is known as reeha (rīha) or rīsa... It yields the fibre known as rhea.
2002 Garden Hist. 30 88/1 Maries' continuing interest in economic botany led to his invention of a new process for processing the fibres of the Rhea plant, Boehmeria nivea.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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