Collard greens Facts
Collard greens Facts
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| Interesting Collard greens Facts: |
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| Collard greens produces stout, erect stem that can reach 3 to 4 feet in height. |
| Collard greens develops large, dark green leaves with irregular lobes and long petioles. Leaves are arranged in the form of rosette around the main stem. |
| Collard greens produces small, yellow flowers arranged in the pyramid-shaped clusters. Flowers attract insects which are responsible for the pollination of this plant. |
| Collard greens produces dry fruit which splits to release numerous, small seed. |
| Collard greens propagates via seed. |
| Farmers plant collard greens usually two times per year: early in the spring and during the summer. Harvest takes place 6 to 8 weeks after sowing. |
| Name "collard" originates from the word "colewort", which is a synonym for the wild cabbage - an ancestor of modern collard greens. |
| Collard greens is also known as "non-heading cabbage" or "tree-cabbage" due to cabbage-like leaves that resemble a crown on top of the stem after removal of the leaves (after few harvests) from the bottom part of the stem. |
| Collard greens is rich source of dietary fibers, vitamin B9, C, A, K and minerals such as iron, calcium, copper, manganese and selenium. 100 g of collard greens contains only 30 calories. |
| Stalks and leaves of collard greens are edible. They can be consumed in the form of soups, stews and dishes made of various types of vegetables and meat. Fresh leaves can be used for the preparation of salads and juices. |
| Flowers of collard greens are also edible, but they are not as much popular as leaves. Once the plant starts to bloom, it ceases production of new leaves and transports all valuable nutrients from the leaves toward the flowers and seed (blooming decreases quality of leaves). |
| Blue max, Georgia, Vates, Champion, Flash and Heavy crop are some of the best known and most commonly cultivated varieties of collard greens. They differ in the size, color and texture of leaves. |
| Collard greens is part of human diet for thousands of years. Ancient Greeks cultivated and consumed several varieties of collard greens. |
| Substances isolated from collard greens have anti-bacterial (kill bacteria) and anti-viral (kill viruses) properties and ability to prevent development of certain types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. |
| Collard greens is biennial plant, which means that it completes its life cycle in 2 years. |
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