Chard

For other uses, see Chard (disambiguation).
"Silverbeet" redirects here. For the album by The Bats, see Silverbeet (album).
Chard
Red-stemmed chard
SpeciesBeta vulgaris
SubspeciesBeta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris
Cultivar groupCicla Group, Flavescens Group
OriginSea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima)
Cultivar group membersMany; see text.

Chard or Swiss chard (/tʃɑːrd/ ⓘ; Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, Cicla Group and Flavescens Group) is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade;[1] the Cicla Group is the leafy spinach beet. The leaf blade can be green or reddish; the leaf stalks are usually white, yellow or red.[2]

Chard, like other green leafy vegetables, has highly nutritious leaves. Chard has been used in cooking for centuries, but because it is the same species as beetroot, the common names that cooks and cultures have used for chard may be confusing;[3] it has many common names, such as silver beet, perpetual spinach, beet spinach, seakale beet, or leaf beet.[4][5]

  1. ^ Librarie Larousse, ed. (1984). Larousse Gastronomique: The World's Greatest Cooking Encyclopedia. The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference cornell2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Swiss chard". Growing Guide. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University. 2006.
  4. ^ "Beta vulgaris (Leaf Beet Group)". Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO. 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Production guidelines for Swiss chard" (PDF). Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of South Africa. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2013.