9 months, 1 week ago-
Greece (AUTH) & Italy (UNIBO) | Leafy vegetables Vertical leader: EGE
This leafy vegetable is part of Asteraceae family. Is annual herb with a hollow, upright stem of up to 30-100 cm high. Prefers full sun and can tolerate most soil conditions. The flowers are hermaphroditic, and common pollinators include bees and flies. It spreads by seeds being carried by wind or water.
Current status: It is native to Europe and western Asia although it is not cultivated but only grows as a wild weed. It could be expanded in Euro-Med and some Central European countries.
Main properties: Is well known as rich source of carotenes and vitamin C. Even the analytical data are very scarce, the limited data show a very high proportion of carotenoids and vitamin C content compared to other leafy.
Nutrition/health: The edible part of the plant are the young leaves, which can be consumed raw or cooked, for example as an ingredient to salads mix or soups and cooked like spinach.
Advantages: Water-energy efficient, environmental resilient (high yields, fast spreading, rocky soils, does not suffer from many diseases), high nutritional value, antioxidant-rich, vegetarian diets, minimal calories, high potential to enter in the food value chain, high potential to incorporate in the consumers shopping basket.
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