Kale

Also Curly Kale, Borecole, Kail

Probably the first of the cabbages to be cultivated, kale in all of today’s principal forms was known two thousand years ago. The Latin caulis, meaning stem or cabbage stem, is the root of a family of cabbage names such as the Dutch kool, German Kohl, or the English cole. The distinctive part about kale’s scientific name is the acephala, meaning headless, which separates it (and its brother collards, a non-curly sibling) from the rest of the brood.

Kale’s ruffly leaves, each of which resembles a mammoth sprig of parsley, are unusual among the Brassica for their opened-out growing shape. It is also unusual for its gamut of beautiful varieties, some of which have been hybridized as ornamental plants. They show up in glamorous hues of variegated lavender and chartreuse, their leaves forming old-fashioned rosette forms on an upright stem. American market varieties are generally spruce green, with frilly leaves, or dusky bluish, with a less pronounced curl.