Chinese cabbage under the name "B. chinensis" by Linnaeus. Chinese cabbage Chinese cabbage ("Brassica rapa", subspecies "pekinensis" and "chinensis") can refer to two groups of Chinese leaf vegetables often used in Chinese cuisine: the Pekinensis Group (napa cabbage) and the Chinensis Group (bok choy). These vegetables are both variant cultivars or subspecies of the turnip and belong to the same genus as such Western staples as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. Both have many variations in name, spelling, and scientific classification, especially bok choy cultivars. The Chinese cabbage was principally grown in the Yangtze River Delta region, but the Ming Dynasty naturalist Li
Fat choy Fat choy Fat choy (; "Nostoc flagelliforme") is a terrestrial cyanobacterium (a type of photosynthetic bacteria) that is used as a vegetable in Chinese cuisine. When dried, the product has the appearance of black hair. For that reason, its name in Chinese means "hair vegetable." When soaked, fat choy has a soft texture which is like very fine vermicelli. Fat choy grows on the ground in the Gobi Desert and the Qinghai Plateau. Over-harvesting on the Mongolian steppes has furthered erosion and desertification in those areas. The Chinese government has limited its harvesting, which has caused its price to increase.