Nearly 1,000 species of plants with edible leaves are known. Leaf vegetables most often come from short-lived herbaceous plants, such as lettuce and spinach, but also come from some woody plants. The leaves of many fodder crops (e.g. alfalfa, clover, and most grasses) are also edible by humans, but usually only as famine or processed food.

The leaves of many fodder crops are also edible by humans, but usually only as famine food. Examples include alfalfa, clover, and most grasses, including wheat and barley. Food processing, such as drying and grinding into powder or pulping and pressing for juice, may involve these crop leaves in a diet.

Leaf vegetables contain many typical plant nutrients, but being photosynthetic tissues, their vitamin K levels are particularly notable. Accordingly, users of vitamin K antagonist medications like warfarin must limit their consumption of leaf vegetables.

If leaves are cooked for food, they may be referred to in the United States as boiled greens. Leaf vegetables may be stir-fried, stewed, steamed, or consumed raw. Leaf vegetables stewed with pork is a traditional dish in soul food and Southern U.S. cuisine. They are also commonly eaten in South Asian dishes such as saag. Leafy greens can be used to wrap other ingredients into an edible package like a tortilla. Many green leafy vegetables, such as lettuce or spinach, can also be eaten raw, for example, in sandwiches or salads. A green smoothie enables large quantities of raw leafy greens to be consumed by blending the leaves with fruit and water.

The brassicaceae is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. The family contains the cruciferous vegetables, including species such as Brassica oleracea (cultivated as cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli and collards), Brassica rapa (turnip, Chinese cabbage, etc.), Brassica napus (rapeseed, etc.), Raphanus sativus (common radish), Armoracia rusticana (horseradish), the cut-flower Matthiola (stock) and the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress).

This family includes important agricultural crops, particularly leafy greens, among which many vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy, kohlrabi, and gai lan (Brassica oleracea), turnip, napa cabbage, mizuna, bok choy and rapini (Brassica rapa), rocket salad/arugula (Eruca sativa), garden cress (Lepidium sativum), watercress (Nasturtium officinale) and radish (Raphanus) and a few spices like horseradish (Armoracia rusticana), wasabi (Eutrema japonicum), white, brown and black mustard (Sinapis alba, Brassica juncea and B. nigra respectively). Even if not specifically grown as leafy green vegetables, the leaves of the majority of these species can be and are consumed.

Outside the brassicaceae, the Amaranthaceae or Amaranth family are a major source of leafy greens worldwide, with the most common and well known species being Spinacia oleracea or spinach. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed either fresh, cooked or after storage (using preservation techniques like canning, freezing, or dehydration). The taste differs considerably between cooked and raw: the high oxalate content may be reduced by blanching. So common is spinach as a leafy green that it's used as a common substitute for other local leafy greens.

Note that beetroot, a source of both an edible taproot and leafy greens. Beta vulgaris is also a member of the Amaranthaceae family, as is the closely related chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris) which is grown for its edible stems and leafy greens.

In Africa, the leaves of cassava plants and sweet potato plants are widely consumed and leafy greens sourced from the wild are used to supplement the diet in countries across the globe.

The alphabetical list of all the leafy greens-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 3209 recipes in total:

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Peri-peri Prawn Pasta      Origin: South Africa	Pickled Sea Purslane      Origin: Britain	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Federated States Micronesia
Perna Apruna ita Impletur Terentina (Filled Gammon of Wild Boar Terentine)      Origin: Roman	Pickled Sea Purslane II      Origin: Britain	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Cook Islands
Pernae Cocturam (Preparation of a Ham)      Origin: Roman	Pickled Spruce Tips      Origin: Canada	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: New Caledonia
Pernam (Ham)      Origin: Roman	Pickled Spruce Tips Rémoulade Sauce      Origin: Canada	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Wallis Futuna
Persian Jewelled Rice      Origin: Iran	Pickled Three-cornered Leek Bulbs      Origin: British	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Society Islands
Peruvian Ceviche      Origin: Peru	Pickled Wild Leek Bulbs      Origin: British	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Marshall Islands
Peruvian Goat Stew      Origin: Peru	Pickling Spice      Origin: Britain	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Marquesas Islands
Pescado Frito (Fried Fish)      Origin: Ecuador	Pigeon Breasts      Origin: Scotland	Pit-oven Cooked Crabs      Origin: British
Pesto Petiolata      Origin: Italy	Pigeon Curry      Origin: India	Pit-oven Cooked Rabbit or Hare      Origin: British
Phaksha Pa      Origin: Bhutan	Pike à la Génévese      Origin: British	Pit-roasted Pig      Origin: Ancient
Phaksha Paa (Bhutanese Pork with Chillies)      Origin: Bhutan	Pilau Rice      Origin: India	Pizza Quattro Stagioni (Four Seasons Pizza)      Origin: Italy
Phali (Young Beet Greens in Walnut Sauce)      Origin: Georgia	Pilau Rice      Origin: Britain	Pizza Rustica (Italian Easter Ham Pie)      Origin: Ghana
Pheasant Dopiaza      Origin: Britain	Pine Pollen Bread      Origin: France	Pizza Rustica (Italian Easter Ham Pie)      Origin: Italy
Pheasant Game Soup      Origin: Britain	Pineapple and Scented Geranium Fruit Cake      Origin: British	Pizzoccheri with Miso Cabbage and Spiced Breadcrumbs      Origin: Fusion
Pheasant Stew with Whisky      Origin: Scotland	Pineapple Pulissery      Origin: India	Placenta (Cato's Layered Cheesecake)      Origin: Roman
Phool gobhi Achari      Origin: India	Pineapple Sage Pound Cake      Origin: American	Plain Omelette with Sorrel      Origin: France
Picado à Madeirense (Beef Tips, Madeiran Style)      Origin: Portugal	Pinon au Dindon (Pinon with Turkey)      Origin: Togo	Plain Pickled Fiddleheads      Origin: Canada
Picado de Rábano (Radish Salad)      Origin: Guatemala	Pintade à l'Afrique (African Guinea Fowl)      Origin: Guinea	Plantain and Coconut Beef Soup      Origin: Gambia
Pickled Ammassat      Origin: Greenland	Pipián (Chicken in Peanut Sauce)      Origin: Philippines	Plasas      Origin: Sierra Leone
Pickled Blackberries      Origin: Britain	Piquant Sauce      Origin: British	Plasas (Sierra Leonean Chicken Peanut Stew)      Origin: Sierra Leone
Pickled Crow Garlic Bulbs      Origin: Britain	Piri-piri Oil      Origin: South Africa	Plat Songhay (Songhay Dish)      Origin: Mali
Pickled Kombu      Origin: Japan	Pisam Adulteram Versatilem (Peas or Beans à la Vitellus)      Origin: Roman	Plat Tradicional Fula (Traditional Fulani Dish)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau
Pickled Mackerel      Origin: British	Pisces Zomoteganon II (Fish Stewed in its Own Juice)      Origin: Roman	Poached Bream in Mayonnaise Sauce      Origin: Britain
Pickled Marsh Samphire      Origin: Britain	Pish-Pash      Origin: India	Poached Chicken      Origin: Britain
Pickled Muktuk      Origin: Greenland	Pish-pash      Origin: Anglo-Indian	Podhalański Barszcz na Serwatce (Tatra Whey Borscht)      Origin: Poland
Pickled Muktuk      Origin: American	Pissenlit au Lard (Dandelion Salad with Bacon)      Origin: France	Poha Chivda (Cabbage Chivda)      Origin: India
Pickled Muktuk      Origin: Canada	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Papua New Guinea	Poisson au Fúmbwa (Fish with Fumbwa)      Origin: Central African Republic
Pickled Parsley Piert      Origin: British	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Fiji	Poisson Capitaine en Feuille de Bananaier (White Grouper in Banana Leaves)      Origin: Burkina Faso
Pickled Pork Hocks or Pork Belly      Origin: Britain	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Niue	Poisson Farci à la Saint-Louisienne (Stuffed Fish, in the Manner of St Louis)      Origin: Senegal
Pickled Purslane      Origin: Britain	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Papua	Poisson Salé (Salt Fish)      Origin: Mauritius
Pickled Purslane with Chilli      Origin: American	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Samoa	Poivrade Sauce      Origin: Britain
Pickled Red Cabbage      Origin: British	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Tonga	Pokhlyobka (Mushroom and Barley Soup)      Origin: Russia
Pickled Salmon      Origin: British	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Vanuatu
Pickled Sea Aster      Origin: England	Pit Pit in Coconut Cream      Origin: Kiribati

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