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Brassica oleracea var. viridis
Also called Collards, Cow cabbage, Fodder kale, Kale, Portuguese kale, Spring-heading cabbage, Tall kale
Collard is a group of loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea, the same species as cabbage and broccoli, grown mainly for its large, dark-green edible leaves. It is a biennial that tolerates frost, with leaves that taste best after the first cold weather.
Collard is a group of loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea (the same species as many common vegetables, including cabbage and broccoli). Part of the Acephala Group (or "kale group"), collard is also classified as the variety B. oleracea var. viridis.
The plants are grown as a food crop for their large, dark-green, edible leaves, which are cooked and eaten as vegetables. Collard has been cultivated as food since classical antiquity.
The plant is commercially cultivated for its thick, slightly bitter, edible leaves. They are available year-round, but are tastier and more nutritious in the cold months, after the first frost. For best texture, the leaves are picked before they reach their maximum size, at which stage they are thicker and are cooked differently from the new leaves. Age only has a minute effect on flavor.
Flavor and texture also depend on the cultivar; the couve manteiga and couve tronchuda are especially appreciated in Brazil and Portugal. The large number of varieties grown in the United States decreased as people moved to towns after World War II, leaving only five varieties commonly in cultivation. However, seeds of many varieties remained in use by individual farmers, growers and seed savers as well as within U.S. government seed collections. In the Appalachian region, cabbage collards, characterized by yellow-green leaves and a partially heading structure are more popular than the dark-green non-heading types in the coastal South.
Abyssinian mustard · Mustard · Zha cai · India mustard · Rutabaga · Rapeseed · Tatsoi · Rhamphospermum nigrum · Gai lan · Cauliflower · Cabbage · Brussels sprout
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Collard (plant) by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
