Leaf vegetable

Look up leaf vegetable in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant <a href="/facts/Leaf/1m6wCNTg">leaves</a> eaten as a <a href="/facts/Vegetable/j3AlDG64">vegetable</a>, sometimes accompanied by their <a href="/facts/Petiole_(botany)/pext65Wr">petioles</a> and <a href="/facts/Shoot_(botany)/ML2z0pru">shoots</a>, if tender. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad greens, whereas leaf vegetables eaten cooked can be called pot herbs.
Nearly one thousand species of <a href="/facts/List_of_plants_with_edible_leaves/RAVnAyvx">plants with edible leaves</a> are known. Leaf vegetables most often come from short-lived <a href="/facts/Herbaceous_plant/u6myDhE2">herbaceous plants</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Lettuce/o68aNEJX">lettuce</a> and <a href="/facts/Spinach/PwxrL0o0">spinach</a>. Woody plants of various species also provide edible leaves.
The leaves of many <a href="/facts/Fodder/b4Hw0Lq0">fodder</a> crops are also edible for humans, but are usually only eaten under <a href="/facts/Famine/EUEEuh4h">famine</a> conditions. Examples include <a href="/facts/Alfalfa/Yesc424s">alfalfa</a>, <a href="/facts/Clover/bKr90Vct">clover</a>, and most <a href="/facts/Poaceae/q2CRK8q0">grasses</a>, including <a href="/facts/Wheat/lrk6HdV3">wheat</a> and <a href="/facts/Barley/GH7X2qtG">barley</a>. <a href="/facts/Food_processing/2vRFfCL9">Food processing</a>, such as drying and grinding into powder or pulping and pressing for juice, may involve these crop leaves in a diet.
Leaf vegetables contain many typical plant nutrients, but their <a href="/facts/Vitamin_K/dpTFSa4J">vitamin K</a> levels are particularly notable since they are photosynthetic tissues. <a href="/facts/Phylloquinone/34AytI3D">Phylloquinone</a>, the most common form of the vitamin, is directly involved in <a href="/facts/Photosynthesis/TMV7w693">photosynthesis</a>.

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Leaf vegetable