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External Websites
- Clemson Cooperative Extension - Home and Garden Information Center - Cabbage and Chinese cabbage
- North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox - Brassica rapa (Pekinensis Group)
- University of Minnnesota Extesion - Growing Chinese cabbage and bok choy in home gardens
- Go Botany - Brassica rapa L.
- The Spruce - What is Chinese Cabbage?
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
- Clemson Cooperative Extension - Home and Garden Information Center - Cabbage and Chinese cabbage
- North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox - Brassica rapa (Pekinensis Group)
- University of Minnnesota Extesion - Growing Chinese cabbage and bok choy in home gardens
- Go Botany - Brassica rapa L.
- The Spruce - What is Chinese Cabbage?
Also known as: Brassica rapa, variety pekinensis, Chinese cabbage, celery cabbage
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
napa cabbage, (Brassica rapa, variety pekinensis), form of Chinese cabbage, belonging to the mustard family (Brassicaceae), cultivated for its edible leaves. Napa cabbage is widely grown in eastern Asia and is commonly used to make kimchi, a traditional Korean dish made of spicy fermented vegetables. It is also cultivated in the United States and elsewhere as a salad vegetable.
Napa cabbage is a cool-weather crop that will rapidly flower if grown in warm temperatures. The plant forms a tight cylindrical head of crinkled light green leaves with white midribs. The heads are usually about 30 cm (12 inches) tall, though ‘Michihli’ forms can reach up to 45 cm (18 inches) in height. Napa cabbage is a biennial but is typically grown as an annual. The yellow flowers have four petals and are borne in loose clusters. The seeds are produced in fruits known as siliques.
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