Rhubarb - has too much for me to copy from Wikipedia. So here is a synopsis. Eat the stems - it's okay, eat the leaves and it's poisonous.
Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla), also known as Swiss Chard, Silverbeet, Perpetual Spinach, Crab Beet and Mangold, is a vegetable and a Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima. While the leaves are eaten, it is in the same species as the garden beet (beetroot), which is grown primarily for its edible roots.
The word Swiss was used to distinguish chard from French spinach varieties by nineteenth centry seed catalog publishers. The chard is very popular among Mediterranean cooks. The first varieties have been traced back to Sicily.
Chard can be harvested while the leaves are young and tender or after maturity when they are larger and have slightly tougher stems. Chard is extremely perishable.
Chard has shiny green ribbed leaves, with stems that range from white to yellow and red depending on the cultivar. It has a slightly bitter taste. Fresh young chard can be used raw in salads. Mature chard leaves and stalks are typically cooked or sauteed; the bitter flavor fades with cooking.
Cultivars of chard include green forms, such as 'Lucullus' and 'Fordhook Giant', as well as red-ribbed forms such as 'Ruby Chard', 'Rainbow Chard', and 'Rhubarb Chard'.
Chard and the other beets are chenopods, a group which is either its own family Chenopodiaceae or a subfamily within the Amaranthaceae.
The plant in the vase is Chard from our garden, yeah for Valarie for guessing correctly. We got a variety seed packet and were able to get many different colors. This was a crop that did very well in our garden and is something that we will definitely grow again. I hope you enjoyed your vegetable lesson for today.
3 comments:
I should have known - all the colors you were describing should have given it away, since all the rhubarb I've ever seen is just reddish pink - none of the other fancy colors you were talking about.
Well, I'm glad you didn't cross over to the dark side and grow rhubarb!
it was the red stems that did it for me on the guess of ruhbarb--only b/c my parents have it in their garden and that is just what it looks like--my parents grow swiss chard, but that has been gone for a long time (early summer veggie)
we have had swiss chard in our garden before, and LOVE it, the variety of stems gave it away!
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