Practical
Plants

Brassica rapa chinensis

Pak Choi

a biennial member of the Brassica genus in the family Brassicaceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
biennial
Height
0.9 m
Fertility
Self fertile, Bees, Self
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees, Self

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Leaves - raw or cooked[7][8][9][1]. They can be eaten at any stage from seedling to mature plant[4]. Well-flavoured, they are sweet with a hint of mustard[4].The leaves are also dried for winter use[4]. The leaves have pronounced stems and these can also be eaten, they tend to have a mild, almost bland flavour[4]. A nutritional analysis is available[5]. Immature flowering stems - cooked like broccoli[4]. A sweet flavour[4]. An edible oil is obtained from the seed.

Plant part
Leaves
Product or use
Oil
Plant part
Stem

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The leaf is antiarthritic, antiscorbutic and resolvent[5].

Product or use
Antirheumatic
Product or use
Antiscorbutic
Product or use
Resolvent

Environment

Range
A cultivar of garden origin.
Habitat
Not known in the wild.
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 7+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow in situ May to August. Spring sown crops are prone to run quickly to seed if there is a spell of cold weather[4]. Some varieties can also be sown in a cold greenhouse in autumn or early spring to provide leaves overwinter and in late spring.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Succeeds in full sun in a well-drained fertile preferably alkaline soil[3]. Prefers a pH of 5.5 to 7[3]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.3 to 7.5. Prefers a cool moist reasonably fertile soil[8]. The plant is shallow rooted and intolerant of drought, it needs to be grown in a moist fertile soil for the best quality leaves[4]. Plants are not tremendously cold-hardy, though they will withstand light frosts[2]. Pak choi is widely cultivated, especially in China, for its edible leaves which are produced mainly in the summer and autumn. A fast-growing plant, there are many named varieties and some can be ready in as little as five weeks from sowing the seed[10][4][6]. Forms with green stems tend to stand up better to adverse conditions than white-stemmed forms[4].

References

  1. Brooklyn Botanic Garden Oriental Herbs and Vegetables, Vol 39 No. 2. Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1986-00-00

    ↩

  2. Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 1. Thompson and Morgan. 1987-00-00

    ↩

  3. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2

  4. Larkcom J. Oriental Vegetables John Murray 1991-00-00 ISBN 0-7195-4781-4

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7↩8↩9↩10

  5. Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4

    ↩1↩2

  6. Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Vegetables Macmillan Reference Books, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0 333 62640 0

    ↩

  7. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

  8. Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn 1980-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  9. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

  10. RHS. The Garden. Volume 112. Royal Horticultural Society 1987-00-00

    ↩

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