Kales

Including curly, Tuscan, ornamental, and Russian types

See also: COLLARDS

Tuscan Black, Blue Scotch, Nagoya Red, and Champion may sound like Olympic teams, but they are forms of Brassica oleracea, Acephala Group—probably the most venerable cultivated representative of the Old World cabbages. Latin caulis (stem) is the root of a group of words for cabbage: Dutch kool, German Kohl, and English cole, kale, and collards (from colewort—meaning cabbage plant—a word still current in parts of the world). Acephala (headless) is the designation that separates (most) kale and collards from other cabbages, for the two grow in the form of a loose bouquet, not in a tight head.