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Chinese cabbage、Peking cabbage, Pe-Tsai [Brassica rapa L. Pekinensis Group (= B. pekinensis (Lour.) Rupr.)]
Plant
Leaf
Leaf
Explanations
- Origin
- Brassica campestris emerging in Near East proceeded toward east and reached China in several pathways more than 4000 years ago.
- Then turnip in northern area and pakchoy in southern area of China were developed separately. Turnip and pakchoy met in central China through the expantion of the empire, and the hybrid was the ancesteal non-heading Chinese cabbage. It finally became heading Chinese cabbage in Qing in north China, where the basic types of cylindrical, oval, and flat-headed were established. Later tropical type of extra-early maturity was derived from flat-headed type.
- Japanese varieties are oval type, developed from introductions early this centry.
- Characteristics
- Quick-growing biannual, with many leaves. Leaves are juicy and tender, pale to dark green, entire spatuate without petiole. At heading, midlib width and the ratio of leaf width/length length increases. Head is either flat, reverse ovate, ovate, short or long cylindrical. Overlapping site of heading leaves is mainly sideways for cylindrical type, and at the for flat type like common cabbage. Variety with overlapping sideway only is called half-heading type. Inside of heads are either white or fresh yellow. Some varieties have white or yellow weapping leaves which are normally green.
- Utilization
- Eaten either fresh as salad or lightly salted, cooked, or pickled.
- Reference
- Li, C. W., The origin, evolution, taxonomy and hybridization of Chinese cabbage. in Chinese Cabbage, ed. Talekar, N.S., Griggs, T.D., AVRDC (1981)
