Spinach

Spinach (Chenopodiaceae family), native to the Caucasus, Persia and neighboring regions, was introduced into Europe towards the end of the 15th century, although only in the 19th century. achieved considerable diffusion. It has an erect, hollow stem up to one meter tall. In the first stages of life the plants have very tender, dark green, shiny, often blistered rosette leaves. The flowers are greenish, the male ones grouped in terminal spikes, the female ones grouped in glomeruli; the fruit is a membranous-leathery achene, spiny or defenseless. Spinach is widely cultivated in the central-northern regions of Italy and actively exported.