Chenopodiaceae family(Spinacia oleracea)
Chenopodiaceae family
Spinach consumption in the US has shifted dramatically over the past two decades from canned to fresh product. Salad is now a popular leafy salad vegetable, although still lagging well behind lettuce. It is also among the most nutritious vegetables in the US diet. Spinach is a dioecious annual with a short (30-50 day) growing season. It is also a photoperiod-sensitive long-day plant. It is harvested before bolting (flower stalk initiation). Spinach is also very cold hardy. The crop is native to Southwest Asia.