Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis

Edible: Leaves, Stem, Flowers, Vegetable

A leafy cabbage grown as an annual. It grows 40-60 cm high. The taproot is not fleshy. The stem is short. The leaves are arranged in spirals. They are simple and broadly oval. They can be 30 cm long by 10 cm wide. The leaves form a rosette. They do not form a head. The leaf stalk is thickened. It forms a half cylinder in cross section and does not have wings. The leaf blade is entire and can have a wavy edge. Flowers are small and yellow with 4 petals. The fruit is a pod 3.5 cm long. The seeds are black and 2 mm long. Several different kinds occur.

A tropical plant. More common in lowland areas but will grow in the highlands. It suits cool seasons but will not tolerate frost. In PNG it grows between sea level and 2,300 m above sea level.

Common Names: Bok-choy Celery cabbage, Broad-beak mustard, Caisin, Celery mustard, Chinese cabbage, Chinese mustard, Chinese savoy, Chinese white cabbage, Choi sum, False pak-choi, Flat cabbage, Flowering white cabbage, Kisaragina, Mock pak-choi, Mustard cabbage, Pak choy, Ramirebaka, Ramiriba, Taatsai, Tah Tsai, Te kabiti n Tiaina, Tsoi sum, Yow choy

Synonyms: 

Brassica chinensis Linnaeus;
Brassica antiquorum H. Léveillé;
Brassica campestris Linnaeus subsp. chinensis (Linnaeus) Makino;
Brassica campestris subsp. chinensis var. amplexicaulis (Tanaka & Ono) Makino;
Brassica campestris subsp. narinosa (L. H. Bailey) G. Olsson;
Brassica campestris var. chinensis (Linnaeus) T. Itô;
Brassica campestris var. narinosa (L. H. Bailey) Kitamura;
Brassica campestris var. parachinensis (L. H. Bailey) Makino;
Brassica chinensis var. communis M. Tsen & S. H. Lee;
Brassica chinensis var. parachinensis (L. H. Bailey) Sinskaya;
Brassica chinensis var. rosularis M. Tsen & S. H. Lee;
Brassica napus Linnaeus var. chinensis (Linnaeus) O. E. Schulz;
Brassica narinosa L. H. Bailey;
Brassica oleracea var. tsiekentsiensis H. Léveillé;
Brassica para-chinensis L. H. Bailey;
Brassica oleracea Linnaeus var. chinensis (Linnaeus) Prain;
Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis (Linnaeus) Hanelt;
Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis var. parachinensis (L. H. Bailey) Hanelt;
Brassica rapa subsp. narinosa (L. H. Bailey) Hanelt;
Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis var. rosularis (M. Tsen & S. H. Lee) Hanelt;
Brassica rapa var. amplexicaulis Tanaka & Ono;
Raphanus chinensis (Linnaeus) Crantz (1769), not Miller (1768);