Ornamental Cabbage Plant. Created with APO by Krys

Ornamental cabbage is the term used for types with broad, flat leaves that are edged in a contrasting color. Ornamental cabbage and kale grow approximately one foot wide. There are many cultivars that are commercially available.

Kale (/keɪl/), or leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage (Brassica oleracea) cultivars grown for their edible leaves, although some are used as ornamentals. Kale plants have green or purple leaves, and the central leaves do not form a head (as with headed cabbage). Kales are considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most of the many domesticated forms of Brassica oleracea.

HISTORY

Kale originated in the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor, where it was cultivated for food beginning by 2000 BCE at the latest. Curly-leaved varieties of cabbage already existed along with flat-leaved varieties in Greece in the 4th century BC. These forms, which were referred to by the Romans as Sabellian kale, are considered to be the ancestors of modern kales.

The earliest record of cabbages in western Europe is of hard-heading cabbage in the 13th century. Records in 14th-century England distinguish between hard-heading cabbage and loose-leaf kale.

Russian kale was introduced into Canada, and then into the United States, by Russian traders in the 19th century. USDA botanist David Fairchild is credited with introducing kale (and many other crops) to Americans, having brought it back from Croatia, although Fairchild himself disliked cabbages, including kale. At the time, kale was widely grown in Croatia mostly because it was easy to grow and inexpensive, and could desalinate soil. For most of the twentieth century, kale was primarily used in the United States for decorative purposes; it became more popular as an edible vegetable in the 1990s due to its nutritional value.

During World War II, the cultivation of kale (and other vegetables) in the U.K. was encouraged by the Dig for Victory campaign. The vegetable was easy to grow and provided important nutrients missing from a diet because of rationing.

ORNAMNTAL

Many varieties of kale and cabbage are grown mainly for ornamental leaves that are brilliant white, red, pink, lavender, blue or violet in the interior of the rosette. The different types of ornamental kale are peacock kale, coral prince, kamone coral queen, color up kale and chidori kale. Ornamental kale is as edible. Kale leaves are increasingly used as an ingredient for vegetable bouquets and wedding bouquets.

CULINARY

As a snack product and also: Veggie chips

Flavored "kale chips" have been produced as a potato chip substitute.

Regional uses

Europe

In the Netherlands, a traditional winter dish called "boerenkoolstamppot" is a mix of curly kale and mashed potatoes, sometimes with fried bacon, and served with rookworst ("smoked sausage").

In Northern Germany, there is a winter tradition known as "Kohlfahrt" ("kale trip"), where a group of people will go on a hike through the woods during the day before gathering at an inn or private residence where kale is served, usually with bacon and Kohlwurst ("kale sausage"). Kale is considered a Northern German staple and comfort food.

In Italy, cavolo nero kale is an ingredient of the Tuscan soup ribollit.

A traditional Portuguese soup, caldo verde, combines pureed potatoes, very finely sliced kale, olive oil and salt. Additional ingredients can include broth and sliced, cooked spicy sausage.

In Scotland, kale provided such a base for a traditional diet that the word in some Scots dialects is synonymous with food. To be "off one's kail" is to feel too ill to eat.

In Ireland, kale is mixed with mashed potatoes to make the traditional dish colcannon. It is popular on Halloween, when it may be served with sausages.

LITERATURE

The Kailyard school of Scottish writers, which included J. M. Barrie (creator of Peter Pan), consisted of authors who wrote about traditional rural Scottish life (kailyard = 'kale field'). In Cuthbertson's book Autumn in Kyle and the charm of Cunninghame, he states that Kilmaurs in East Ayrshire was famous for its kale, which was an important foodstuff. A story is told in which a neighbouring village offered to pay a generous price for some kale seeds, an offer too good to turn down. The locals agreed, but a gentle roasting on a shovel over a coal fire ensured that the seeds never germinated.

There are so different fractal mushrooms....

Fractal created by Lynn
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Fractal created by Jenny
She used Fractal Explorer

Fractal created by Jenny
She used Fractal Explorer

Fractal created by Jenny
She used Fractal Explorer

Name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap. "Mushroom" also describes a variety of other gilled fungi, with or without stems, therefore the term is used to describe the fleshy fruiting bodies of some Ascomycota. These gills produce microscopic spores that help the fungus spread across the ground or its occupant surface

• Mushrooms are used extensively in cooking, in many cuisines (notably Chinese, Korean, European, and Japanese). Though neither meat nor vegetable, mushrooms are known as the "meat" of the vegetable world.

• Most mushrooms sold in supermarkets have been commercially grown on mushroom farms. The most popular of these, Agaricus bisporus, is considered safe for most people to eat because it is grown in controlled, sterilized environments. Several varieties of A. bisporus are grown commercially, including whites, crimini, and portobello. Other cultivated species available at many grocers include Hericium erinaceus, shiitake, maitake (hen-of-the-woods), Pleurotus, and enoki. In recent years, increasing affluence in developing countries has led to a considerable growth in interest in mushroom cultivation, which is now seen as a potentially important economic activity for small farmers

• Many mushroom species produce secondary metabolites that can be toxic, mind-altering, antibiotic, antiviral, or bioluminescent. Although there are only a small number of deadly species, several others can cause particularly severe and unpleasant symptoms. Toxicity likely plays a role in protecting the function of the basidiocarp: the mycelium has expended considerable energy and protoplasmic material to develop a structure to efficiently distribute its spores. One defense against consumption and premature destruction is the evolution of chemicals that render the mushroom inedible, either causing the consumer to vomit the meal (see emetics), or to learn to avoid consumption altogether. In addition, due to the propensity of mushrooms to absorb heavy metals, including those that are radioactive, European mushrooms may, as late as 2008, include toxicity from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Girasole1
Fractal created by Alida
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Girasole2

Both pics are fractals
created by Alida
She used Ultra Fractal5

Girasole-UF-PARAMETERS

The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), also called sunroot, sunchoke, or earth apple, is a species of sunflower native to central North America. It grows wild in eastern and western North America but is considered an introduced species It is also cultivated widely across the temperate zone for its tuber, which is used as a root vegetable.

• Before the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans cultivated H. tuberosus as a food source. The tubers persist for years after being planted, so that the species expanded its range from central North America to the eastern and western regions.Early European colonists learned of this, and sent tubers back to Europe, where it became a popular crop and naturalized there. It later gradually fell into obscurity in North America, but attempts to market it commercially have been successful in the late 1900s and early 2000s

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• Despite one of its names, the Jerusalem artichoke has no relationship to Jerusalem, and it is not a type of artichoke, though the two are distantly related as members of the daisy family. The origin of the "Jerusalem" part of the name is uncertain. Italian settlers in the United States called the plant girasole, the Italian word for sunflower, because of its familial relationship to the garden sunflower (both plants are members of the genus Helianthus). Over time, the name girasole in southern Italian dialects may have been changed to Jerusalem. In other words, English speakers would have corrupted "girasole artichoke" (meaning, "sunflower artichoke") to Jerusalem artichoke..

Garlik
Fractal created by Jenny
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 Allium is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants. There are many species of Allium. They occur in temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere. Allium genus produce chemical compounds (mostly derived from cysteine sulfoxides) that give them a characteristic (alliaceous) onion or garlic taste and odor. The plant includes:

Red onion
Fractal created by Alida
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• onion - known as the bulb onion or common onion.

• The onion plant has bluish-green leaves and its bulb at the base of the plant begins to swell  (autumn or in spring) the foliage dies down and the outer layers of the bulb become dry and brittle. The crop is harvested and dried and the onions are ready for use or storage. 

• History: The geographic origin of the onion is uncertain. Food uses of onions date back thousands of years in China, Egypt and Persia.

• Culinary uses: Onion can be baked, boiled, braised, grilled, fried, roasted, sautéed, or eaten raw in salads. 

• Non-culinary uses:Onions have particularly large cells that are readily observed. Onion's cell is easy to separate for educational, experimental, and breeding purposes.

• Freshly cut onions often cause a stinging sensation in the eyes of people nearby, and often uncontrollable tears. This is caused by the release of a volatile gas, which stimulates nerves in the eye creating a stinging sensation. This gas is produced by a chain of reactions which serve as a defense mechanism.

Allium cepa
Photo taken by Jenny

• Garlic is a very interesting, edible plant knon on all the world. People love and hate it at the same time. They love eating garlic because it makes food's flavor richer, but the garlic and the others plants of Allium genus produce chemical compounds which give a characteristic odor (it is not enjoyable at all).  the most interesting feature of the garlic is that it brings most of the health benefits. It is a natural antibiotic which fight against bacterias in people's body:). It also has very few calories but it contains everything what we need to have: Manganese, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Selenium, Fiber and decent amounts of Calcium, Copper, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iron and Vitamin B1. The best way to consume garlic is raw, or to crush and cut it and leave it out for a while before you add it to your recipes.

• scallion (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus Allium. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chive, and Chinese onions.

Although the bulbs of many Allium species are used as food, the defining characteristic of scallion species is that they lack a fully developed bulb. Instead the Allium species referred to as scallions make use of the hollow, tubular green leaves growing directly from the bulb. These leaves are used as a vegetable and can be eaten either raw or cooked. Often the leaves are chopped into other dishes and used as garnishes.

• shallot The shallot is a type of onion. It probably came from Central or Southwest Asia and was travelling from there to India and the eastern Mediterranean. The name "shallot" comes from Ashkelon, an ancient Canaanite city, where people in classical Greek times believed shallots originated. The skin colour of shallots can vary from golden brown to gray to rose red, and their off-white flesh is usually tinged with green or magenta.

Red onion cut
Photo taken by Jenny

• leek The leek was a part of the Egyptian diet from at least the second millennium BCE onwards. They also allude to surviving texts that show it had been also grown in MesopotamiA   from the beginning of the second millennium BCE.

• chives

History: First  Linnaeus described Allium (1753). There were 30 species in his classification.  Later (2009) classification showed 800 species. 

Ornament: Many Allium species are cultivated as ornamental flowers. The hybrids of Allium "Bea Regard", "Gladiator", "Globemaster" have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Toxicity: Dogs and cats may be poisoned after eating the plant. 

Uses: Important economical species: onions, French shallots, leeks, scallions, garlic, chives. 

Carrot
Fractal created by Louise
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• Daucus carota (carot) is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow varieties exist

• Daucus carota is a domesticated form of the wild carot, native to Europe and southwestern Asia.

• A beta-carotena as a source pilots' night vision/seeing during air battles IIWW. Some people believed. It was only a result of propaganda.

Daucus carota
by
By Carl Axel Magnus Lindman
- «Bilder ur Nordens Flora» Stockholm, [1], [2], Domena publiczna,