Spring greens are a
cultivar of ''
Brassica oleracea'' in the cultivar
acephala group, similar to
kale, in which the central leaves do not form a head or form only a very loose one.
It is considered to be closer to
wild cabbage than most other domesticated forms, and is grown primarily in northern
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, where its tolerance of cold
winters is valued for an early
spring supply of
edible leaves. The
cultivar group acephala also includes
curly kale and
collard greens, which are extremely similar genetically.
The term is also used more loosely to refer to thinnings and trimmed-off leaves of other types of ''
Brassica'', including
turnip and
swede leaves, surplus thinned out young
cabbage plants and leaves from
cauliflower and
Brussels sprouts.
In all cases, the leaves, being loose, are fully exposed to light and atmospheric conditions, so are darker green, coarser, often tougher, and more strongly flavoured than cabbages that form a closed head, but are also particularly rich in
vitamin
Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...
C,
folate and
dietary fibre, making them a very healthy food.
References
Brassica
Leaf vegetables
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