Choy sum (also spelled choi sum, choi sam in

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

; cai xin, caixin in

Standard Mandarin Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standar ...

) is a leafy vegetable commonly used in

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ot ...

. It is a member of the genus ''

Brassica ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole cro ...

'' of the mustard family,

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leav ...

(''Brassica rapa'' var. ''parachinensis'' or ''Brassica chinensis'' var. ''parachinensis''). Choy sum is a transliteration of the Cantonese name (), which can be literally translated as "heart of the vegetable". It is also known as Chinese flowering cabbage.

Description

Choy sum is a green leafy vegetable similar to gai lan, and can be characterized by the distinct yellow flowers which it bears. Each flower has four yellow, oval to round petals with six stamens on fleshy, erect stems which are in diameter and tall with light to dark green, and are oval (becomes

acuminate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

shaped, or basal-shaped near the flowering stage) with slightly serrated margins leaves, which never forms compact heads like the cabbage. Fruits can develop out of cross-pollination or self-pollination, and are

silique A silique or siliqua (plural ''siliques'' or ''siliquae'') is a type of fruit (seed capsule) having two fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. When the length is less than three times the width of the dried fruit i ...

structured, that open at maturity through dehiscence or drying to bare open to brown or black seeds that are small and round in shape. A single pod can bear 4 to 46 seeds. The height of the plant varies greatly, ranging from depending on the growing conditions and the variety. Flowering usually appears when there are about 7 to 8 leaves on the plant or about tall. The bulk of the root system is found within a depth of and is confined to a radius of . The whole plant is overall an

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

plant, rarely

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

, rarely growing into subshrubs. The whole plant consists of a simple or branched (when it is near the flowering stage), leafy structure. It grows best in soil with a minimum pH level of 5.6, maximum pH level of 7.5.

Gallery

Chinese vegetable 027.jpg, Typical choy sum fresh from field in Hainan Phak kwangtung905.JPG, Choy sum variety in Thailand, called phàk Kwangtûng (lit:

cabbage; cabbage of Guangdong) Purple Choi Sum stalks besides ruler.JPG, Purple choi sum, a choy sum variety in Hong Kong Choy Sum with Soy Sauce.jpg, Cooked choy sum in soy sauce in Hong Kong

References

Brassica Cantonese cuisine East Asian vegetables Leaf vegetables {{vegetable-stub

Description

Gallery

See also

References