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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Victorian Chicken Korma      Origin: Anglo-Indian	White Cabbage Salad      Origin: Mauritius	Wild Rocket, Nasturtium and Herb Salad      Origin: Britain
Victorian Green Saag with Prawns      Origin: Anglo-Indian	White Crab and Cabbage Shanghai Buns      Origin: China	Wild Spring Flower Salad      Origin: Britain
Victorian Pickled Vindaloo      Origin: Anglo-Indian	White Curry      Origin: Fusion	Wild Spring Greens Gnocchi      Origin: Fusion
Victorian Pish-pash      Origin: Anglo-Indian	White Veal Stock      Origin: Britain	Wild Spring Greens Soup      Origin: British
Vietnamese Pho      Origin: Vietnam	Whole Chicken Soup      Origin: China	Wild Spring Salad      Origin: Britain
Vin d'Epiné (Blackthorn Leaf Wine)      Origin: France	Wigilijna Zupa Grzybowa (Polish Christmas Mushroom Soup)      Origin: Poland	Willowherb Bubble and Squeak      Origin: Britain
Vincentian and Grenadinian Paime      Origin: Saint Vincent	Wild Boar Liver Pâté      Origin: British	Wisteria, Chickweed and Pea Flower Spring Rolls      Origin: America
Vincentian Buljol      Origin: Saint Vincent	Wild Carrot Greens Pickle      Origin: Britain	Woodruff Panna Cotta      Origin: Italy
Vindaloush with Fungee      Origin: Caribbean	Wild Food Tacacá      Origin: Fusion	Wouré Burakhè Magilinri (Sweet Potato Leaf Sauce)      Origin: Guinea
Vine Leaf Sarma      Origin: North Macedonia	Wild Garlic and Mushroom Lasagne      Origin: Britain	Xató (Salt Cod and Tuna Salad)      Origin: Spain
Vine Leaves Stuffed with Fennel, Salami and Eggs      Origin: Albania	Wild Garlic and Nettle Soup      Origin: Britain	Xiao Long Xia (Garlic-braised Crayfish)      Origin: China
Vinegar and Oil Pickled Mushrooms      Origin: Britain	Wild Garlic and Walnut Mayonnaise      Origin: Britain	Xicoies (Andorran Dandelion Salad)      Origin: Andorra
Vodhino Casarolas (Roast Beef Casserole)      Origin: Cyprus	Wild Garlic and Wild Mustard Greens Pesto      Origin: Britain	Yakisoba      Origin: Japan
Vodhino Stfadho (Grilled Pork Cutlets)      Origin: Cyprus	Wild Garlic Custard      Origin: Britain	Yalanchy Sarma (Armenian Stuffed Vine Leaves)      Origin: Armenia
Vospapur (Armenian Lentil And Spinach Soup)      Origin: Armenia	Wild Garlic Focaccia      Origin: Britain	Yalanci Dolma (Stuffed Vine Leaves)      Origin: Northern Cyprus
Vryonoye Miaso Po-Russki (Boiled Beef Russian Style)      Origin: Russia	Wild Greens Cakes      Origin: Britain	Yam with Greens, Onion, and Okra      Origin: Nigeria
Waldmeister Bowle      Origin: Germany	Wild Greens Cream Soup      Origin: British	Yaprak Sarmasi (Vine Leaf Rolls)      Origin: Turkey
Waldmeistersirup (Sweet Woodruff Syrup)      Origin: Germany	Wild Greens Fritters      Origin: Britain	Yaroa Dominicana      Origin: Dominican Republic
Waldorf Hotel's Waldorf Salad      Origin: American	Wild Greens Garlic Bread      Origin: Britain	Yarpakh Dolmasy (Vine Leaves Stuffed with Lamb and Rice)      Origin: Azerbaijan
Walkie Talkies      Origin: South Africa	Wild Greens Gnocci in Tomato Sauce      Origin: Britain	Yarrow Tea      Origin: Britain
Wara Enab (Egyptian Stuffed Vine Leaves)      Origin: Egypt	Wild Greens Kimchi      Origin: Fusion	Yassa Au Poulet de la Casamance (Chicken Yassa in the Manner of Casamarance)      Origin: Senegal
Warm Potato, Watercress and Bacon Salad      Origin: Britain	Wild Greens Pasta Primavera      Origin: British	Yebeh (White Yam Porridge)      Origin: Sierra Leone
Warm Salad of Oyster Mushrooms      Origin: Britain	Wild Greens Puree      Origin: Britain	Yellow Curry with Swiss Chard and Tofu      Origin: Fusion
Water Mint Pesto      Origin: Britain	Wild Greens Saag Paneer      Origin: Fusion	Yellow Split Pea Bhuna Kedgeree      Origin: Anglo-Indian
Watercress and Cobnut Soup      Origin: Britain	Wild Greens Soup      Origin: Britain	Yen Thongba (Manipuri Chicken Curry)      Origin: India
Watercress and Ramson Soup      Origin: British	Wild Greens Spanakopita      Origin: Fusion	Yoghurt Sharbat      Origin: India
Watercress and Roast Garlic Soup      Origin: British	Wild Herb Casserole      Origin: Britain	Ysgwydd Cig Oen Cymreig wedi ei bobi'n araf â chyri (Slow-cooked curried shoulder of Welsh Lamb)      Origin: Welsh
Watercress and Spinach Soup      Origin: Britain	Wild Masala      Origin: Britain	Ysgwydd Oen Mewn Dull Gwledig (Rustic Lamb Shoulder Roast)      Origin: Welsh
Watercress Greens      Origin: Britain	Wild Mushroom and Shallot Duxelles      Origin: Britain	Zürcher Eintopf (Zürich Style Hotpot)      Origin: Switzerland
Watercress Sauce      Origin: British	Wild Mushroom Soup      Origin: Britain	Z'habitants (Martinique Callaloo)      Origin: Martinique
Watercress Soup      Origin: Britain	Wild Mushroom Soup      Origin: Britain	Zafrani Murgh      Origin: India
Watermint Flower Ice Cream      Origin: Britain	Wild Mustard and Spinach Curry with Oak Moss Tempering      Origin: India	Zambezi Fish Bobotie      Origin: Zimbabwe
West African Meat Kebabs      Origin: West Africa	Wild Mustard Greens with Ham Hocks      Origin: American
West Sumatran Fish Curry      Origin: Sumatra	Wild Mustard Greens with Sausage and Bean Soup      Origin: Italy

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