CGN leafy vegetables collection
Leafy vegetables are a highly variable group of crop plants that can broadly be defined as vegetables grown for their edible leaves. However, the distinction between leafy and non-leafy crops is not always clear.
An overview of crops considered leafy vegetables by ECPGR was discussed during the meeting of the vegetables network in Portugal in 2000 (Lebeda and Boukema 2001), which resulted in a group of genera consisting of Asparagus, Atriplex, Chenopodium, Chrysanthemum, Cichorium, Cynara, Diplotaxis, Eruca, Lactuca, Lepidium, Portulaca, Rheum, Rumex, Spinacia, Taraxacum, Tetragonia and Valerianella.
Lactuca spp. (lettuce) and Spinacia spp. (spinach) are the main leafy vegetable collections maintained at CGN. In addition, CGN maintains a collection of Valerianella spp. (lamb’s lettuce), while accessions of Eruca (rocket salad) are included in the collection of crucifers.
References
CGN lamb’s lettuce collection
Lamb’s lettuce (or corn salad) is a relatively small crop assigned to the group of minor leafy vegetables. As CGN’s collection of lamb’s lettuce has a very short history, the collection has not yet been extensively described by characterization and evaluation data, nor has it so far been widely utilized for breeding and research. More information about several aspects of the collection can be accessed below.
CGN lettuce collection
CGN maintains one of the largest genetic resources collections of lettuce in the world, currently (August 2024) including nearly 2600 accessions. CGN’s lettuce collection contains a fairly high representation of wild species, covering over 40% of the total collection. The collection is relatively well characterized by morphological and molecular descriptors, while also many trait data have been collected. More information about various aspects of the collection can be accessed below.
CGN spinach collection
CGN’s spinach collection currently (August 2024) includes almost 550 accessions, representing one of the largest genetic resources collections of spinach in the world.