Japanese name: コウサイタイ（紅菜苔） Scientific name:Brassica rapa
[Overview]
An annual or biennial.
It grows 50–60 cm tall.
The leaf bases and stems are reddish purple.
The basal leaves are alternate, long-ovate and glossy on the surface.
The flowers are borne in racemes at the stem tips and are yellow with 4 petals.
[History]
It is said to have originated in the middle Yangtze River region of China, and cultivation in Japan seems to have begun around the 1970s.
[Uses]
The flower buds, young stems and leaves of bolted plants are used as a vegetable.
The reddish-purple leaf bases and stems turn green when boiled, and are sweet and sticky.
[Cultivation]
It prefers a cool climate.
Harvest when the plant has bolted and 1–2 flowers have opened.
Pests include aphids, cabbage worms and cutworms.
