Bok choy Bok choy Bok choy, pak choi or pok choi (; "Brassica rapa" subsp. "chinensis") is a type of Chinese cabbage. "Chinensis" varieties do not form heads and have smooth, dark green leaf blades instead, forming a cluster reminiscent of mustard greens or celery. "Chinensis" varieties are popular in southern China and Southeast Asia. Being winter-hardy, they are increasingly grown in Northern Europe. This group was originally classified as its own species under the name "Brassica chinensis" by Linnaeus. Other than the ambiguous term "Chinese cabbage", the most widely used name in North America for the "chinensis" variety is "bok choy"
Vegetable meaning then being "the edible part of such a plant". A more precise definition is "any plant part consumed for food that is not a fruit or seed, but including mature fruits that are eaten as part of a main meal". Falling outside these definitions are edible fungi (such as edible mushrooms) and edible seaweed which, although not parts of plants, are often treated as vegetables. In the latter-mentioned definition of "vegetable", which is used in everyday language, the words "fruit" and "vegetable" are mutually exclusive. "Fruit" has a precise botanical meaning, being a part that developed from the ovary