diff --git a/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml b/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml
index e34843512a..3c8ed8249f 100644
--- a/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml
+++ b/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml
@@ -2827,6 +2827,18 @@
                                 those from <filename>foo-dev</filename>, into
                                 the sysroot.
                                 </para></listitem>
+                            <listitem><para>
+                                One recipe having another recipe in
+                                <filename>DEPENDS</filename> does not by itself
+                                add any runtime dependencies between the
+                                packages produced by the two recipes.
+                                However, as explained in the
+                                <link linkend='var-RDEPENDS'><filename>RDEPENDS</filename></link>
+                                glossary entry, runtime dependencies will often
+                                be added automatically, meaning
+                                <filename>DEPENDS</filename> alone is
+                                sufficient for most recipes.
+                                </para></listitem>
                             <listitem><para>
                                 Counterintuitively,
                                 <filename>DEPENDS</filename> is often necessary