Swiss Chard

Chard or Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, Cicla-Group and Flavescens-Group) (/tʃɑːrd/) is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens-Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade; the Cicla-Group is the leafy spinach beet. The leaf blade can be green or reddish in color; the leaf stalks are usually white, or a colorful yellow or red. Chard or Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, Cicla-Group and Flavescens-Group) (/tʃɑːrd/) is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens-Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade; the Cicla-Group is the leafy spinach beet. The leaf blade can be green or reddish in color; the leaf stalks are usually white, or a colorful yellow or red. Chard, like other green leafy vegetables, has highly nutritious leaves, making it a popular component of healthy diets. Chard has been used in cooking for centuries, but because of its similarity to beets and vegetables like cardoon, the common names that cooks and cultures have used for chard may be confusing; it has many common names, such as silver beet, perpetual spinach, beet spinach, seakale beet, or leaf beet. Chard was first described in 1753 by Carl von Linné as Beta vulgaris var. cicla. Its taxonomic rank has changed many times, so it was treated as a subspecies, convariety or variety of Beta vulgaris. (Some of the numerous synonyms are Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla (L.) W.D.J. Koch (Cicla Group), B. vulgaris subsp. cicla (L.) W.D.J. Koch var. cicla L., B. vulgaris var. cycla (L.) Ulrich, B. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris (Leaf Beet Group), B. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris (Spinach Beet Group), B. vulgaris subsp. cicla (L.) W.D.J. Koch (Flavescens Group), B. vulgaris subsp. cicla (L.) W.D.J. Koch var. flavescens (Lam.) DC., B. vulgaris L. subsp. vulgaris (Leaf Beet Group), B. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris (Swiss Chard Group)). The accepted name for all beet cultivars, like chard, sugar beet and beetroot, is Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris. They are cultivated descendants of the sea beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima. Chard belongs to the chenopods, which are now mostly included in the family Amaranthaceae (sensu lato). There are two rankless cultivar groups for chard: the Cicla-Group for the leafy spinach beet, and the Flavescens-Group for the stalky Swiss chard. The word 'chard' descends from the fourteenth-century French carde, from Latin carduus meaning artichoke thistle (or cardoon, including the artichoke). The origin of the adjective 'Swiss' is unclear, since this coastal plant is not native to Switzerland. Some attribute the name to it having been first described by a Swiss botanist, either Gaspard Bauhin or Karl Heinrich Emil Koch (although the latter was German, not Swiss). Chard is used in traditional Swiss cuisine, however, namely in a dish called Capuns from the Canton of Grisons. Chard is a biennial. Clusters of chard seeds are usually sown, in the Northern Hemisphere, between June and October, depending on the desired harvesting period. Chard can be harvested while the leaves are young and tender, or after maturity when they are larger and have slightly tougher stems. Harvesting is a continuous process, as most species of chard produce three or more crops. Raw chard is extremely perishable. Cultivars of chard include green forms, such as 'Lucullus' and 'Fordhook Giant', as well as red-ribbed forms such as 'Ruby Chard' and 'Rhubarb Chard'. The red-ribbed forms are attractive in the garden, but as a general rule, the older green forms tend to outproduce the colorful hybrids. 'Rainbow Chard' is a mix of colored varieties that is often mistaken for a variety unto itself. Chard has shiny, green, ribbed leaves, with petioles that range from white to yellow to red, depending on the cultivar.