John's cabbage
- noun
- US
:
repollo de Juan
- Local chefs often use the leaves of John's cabbage as a substitute for collard greens.
Examples
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The white flowers of John's cabbage make it an attractive addition to ornamental beds.
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John's cabbage is commonly found growing in gardens throughout the southeastern United States.
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I love John's cabbage salad!
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Have you tried John's cabbages from the farmer's market?
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John's cabbage is often used in Southern cooking for its flavorful leaves.
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Many people enjoy cooking with John's cabbage in traditional meals.
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John's cabbage thrives in warm climates and attracts pollinators with its white flowers.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A plant with white flowers whose leaves people eat as greens
A plant with white flowers whose young leaves are eaten as salad greens in the southeastern United States
A showy perennial herb with white flowers that grows in moist southeastern United States forests and has young edible leaves
A plant that lives for many years and has white or pale purple flowers and leaves you can eat
A plant that lives for many years with white flowers and leaves you can eat as greens
Surface Forms
Morphology
John's + cabbage
Although the word 'cabbage' signals a plant/leafy vegetable, the possessive proper name 'John's' does not convey the specific botanical sense; this looks like a lexicalized common name for a particular herb rather than literal cabbage owned by John. A B1 learner who knows the constituents might guess it is some kind of plant or variety, but would not reliably derive the precise meaning 'a showy perennial herb with white flowers,' so the expression is only partially predictable.
Etymology
John's cabbage may come from gardeners who called a common flowering plant that way because its large leaves looked like small cabbage leaves and cooks used them as 'greens'. That's why the name is used today for a showy plant with white flowers whose leaves are eaten like collard greens.