Article # 73. List of Vegetables - Leafy Greens

List of Vegetables - Leafy Greens

Green Leafy Vegetables

The following list of vegetables is a selection of leafy salad greens, herbs, sprouts, and edible weeds that can be juiced, blended, and eaten for good health.

Rotate your salad greens

Many salad greens contain alkaloids. If the same leafy green vegetable is eaten every day then the alkaloids may build up and become harmful to the body. This can be avoided by eating a variety of leafy greens. It is recommended that you rotate your greens to prevent possible problems.

·         Amaranth: with "roots" in the Americas, this plant yields both greens and grain. The greens, also known as Chinese spinach, are sometimes steamed or boiled and then mashed and mixed with various seasonings. Please note that, like spinach, amaranth contains a fair amount of oxalic acid.

·         Arugula: also sometimes known as rocket; considered by some, including myself, to be rather bitter.

·         Asparagus

·         Beet greens

·         Bitterleaf: a new one for me, although apparently widely eaten in Africa. Used as a vegetable and also as a remedy for, among other things, upset stomach and skin infections. A soup made with dried bitter leaf is said to be quite popular in Nigeria.

·         Bok choy: a Chinese vegetable you're probably already eating in the occasional stir fry. Makes a good salad, too.

·         Broccoli: chock full of great stuff, although hard for some of us to take when cooked; makes a fine dipper for sauces when raw but does provide more lycopene when cooked. Bummer if you don't like it that way...

·         Brussels sprouts: also more palatable to some of us when raw. Sliced very thinly, they add a nice peppery taste to salads.

·         Cabbage: self-evident, I suspect.

·         Catsear: sometimes called false dandelion and considered a noxious weed in Washington state (USA); said to be palatable to livestock

·         Celery: probably needs no introduction, right? Any list of vegetables would probably feature this veggie.

·         Celtuce: named after its unique combination of celery-like stalks and lettuce-like leaves. In China the plant is grown mainly for the fat central stalk, which is quite crispy and tender.

·         Ceylon spinach: tender and fast growing tropical climber with thick heart-shaped leaves and white flowers; high in vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium.

·         Chard

·         Chaya: a popular leafy vegetable in Mexican and Central American cuisines, similar to spinach. The leaves must be cooked before eating, however, as the raw leaves are toxic.

·         Chinese cabbage

·         Collard greens

·         Corn salad: also called Lewiston cornsalad, lamb's lettuce, field salad, mâche, and rapunzel, this veggie has dark spoon-shaped leaves and a particularly tangy flavor.

·         Cress

·         Dandelion: “Dandelion is a rich source of vitamins A, B complex, C, and D, as well as minerals such as iron, potassium, and zinc. Its leaves are often used to add flavor to salads, sandwiches, and teas. The roots can be found in some coffee substitutes, and the flowers are used to make certain wines.” (University of Maryland Medical Center)

·         Endive

·         Epazote: said to be poisonous in large quantities, but is sometimes used in small amounts to make beans more digestable. Before trying this yourself, read about it here.

·         Fat hen: “Now considered a weed, fat hen was once valued for its fatty seeds and edible leaves.” (Hutchinson encyclopedia)

·         Fiddleheads: outrageously tasty, and also entertaining to watch as they cook. Get them whenever you can! (And lots of luck with that, she said grumpily.)

·         Garden rocket: (see arugula)

·         Golden samphire: “Golden Samphire is a leafy bush with large yellow flowers that grows in marshy or coastal land areas across Eurasia. The leaves can be eaten raw or you can cook them as you would other green leafy vegetables." (from Foodista.com)

·         Good King Henry: a type of spinach eaten either raw or cooked. Native to Central and Southern Europe.

·         Kai-lan: also known as Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale.

·         Kale: if you don't know this veggie very well, click here. It should be on everybody's "list of vegetables."

·         Kohlrabi: a bulb veggie growing above ground. Often green, kohlrabi is also sometimes white or purple. Although its many leaf stems give it an oddish look, it’s actually quite tasty and can be eaten either raw or cooked. Try the bulb coarsely shredded in salads, for example, and toss the leaves into stir fries...

·         Komatsuna: a leafy vegetable with a flavor resembling mustard greens; used in salads or Asian stir fry dishes.

·         Kuka leaves: young, fresh baobab leaves; similar to spinach and eaten in similar ways—i.e., raw or cooked. Sometimes these leaves are dried and ground into a powder to add to soups and stews for thickening.

·         Lagos bologi: leafy plant grown in West Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and warmer parts of North America and South America. Rather like spinach…

·         Land cress: also known as American cress, bank cress, Belle Isle cress, Bermuda cress, early yellowrocket, early wintercress, scurvy cress, and upland cress; easier to cultivate than watercress.

·         Lettuce

·         Melokhia: an Egyptian herb similar to spinach; often used in soups.

·         Mizuna greens: a Japanese mustard green with jagged-edge green leaves and a peppery flavor; used in salads, stir-fries and soups.

·         Mustard greens: quick to mature and easy to grow, this veggie is a cool-season crop popular for "greens" recipes and salads.

·         New Zealand spinach: also known as (among other things) sea spinach, Botany Bay apinach, and Cook's Cabbage. Native to New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Chile, and Argentina this plant produces smaller and much-smoother leaves than traditional spinach. It can be eaten in similar ways, however; like traditional spinach, it contains oxalic acid.

·         Orache: leafy vegetable with a salty, spinach-like taste; also called Red orach, Mountain spinach, or French spinach.

·         Pak choy: see bok choy.

·         Pea pods: Self-evident, right? Also a candidate for most any list of vegetables.

·         Purslane: mild, chewy vegetable with a thick reddish stem; has a slight citrus flavor that's yummy in salads. **If gathering it wild, watch out for spurge, a poisonous creeping wild plant sometimes found near purslane. (Has a wiry stem that gives off a white, milky sap when you break it.)

·         Radicchio: Not green (reddish-purple), but leafy; keeps amazingly well!

·         Rapini: a green veggie with spiked leaves surrounding a green bud that looks much like a small head of broccoli. Often, there are small yellow flowers blooming from the buds, which are edible. Flavor said to be nutty, sometimes bitter and pungent, and often delicious.

·         Samphire: long, fleshy, bright-green, shining leaflets (full of aromatic juice); long used as a condiment and pickle, or as a salad ingredient.

·         Sea beet: grows wild along some shores in Great Britain; often known as wild spinach, its leaves have a pleasant texture and taste when served raw or cooked.

·         Seakale: a member of the cabbage family, it is a perennial grown for its blanched young shoots.

·         Sierra Leone bologi: shade-tolerant perennial vine growing particularly in Sierra Leone; has spinach-like leaves that are often eaten steamed. Click to see a photo of Sierra Leone bologi.

·         Soko: broadleaf vegetable of the Amaranth family; a popular veggie in Nigeria, where they call it soko yokoto

·         Sorrel: leafy garden herb with a sourish flavor; often used in soups, salads, and sauces. Apparently, it has a laxative effect, so…

·         Spinach

·         Sprouts: alfalfa, broccoli, clover, sunflower...

·         Swiss chard

·         Tatsoi: also called spinach mustard, spoon mustard, or rosette bok choy; has a soft creamy texture and a subtle yet distinctive flavor. Withstands temperatures down to –10°C (15°F) and can be harvested even from under the snow(!) (from Wikipedia)

·         Turnip greens

·         Watercress

·         Water spinach: green plant with very narrow leaves and light-green stalks; often used in Chinese cuisine.

·         Yarrow: mostly known for blossoms, its young leaves can be eaten either lightly cooked or in salads. BUT it is said that extended use of this plant, either medicinally or in the diet, can cause allergic skin rashes or lead to photosensitivity in some people. So maybe give this one a miss unless you love taking risks.