Crambe maritima – Blue Sea Kale – Brassicaceae (The Mustard Family)

Description The sea kale has large, ruffled, cabbage-like, silver-blue leaves with undulating edges that provide great texture and colour contrast to the sunny garden. In early summer Crambe maritima blooms with branched panicles of fragrant white flowers. Use it as an accent or mass plant as a ground cover. All parts of the plant are edible: leaves, flowers and even the roots. It has traditionally been used as an early season leafy vegetable on the coasts of England and France. The leaves are harvested when young at about eight inches long. They can be eaten raw or are delicious when sauteed in butter. Popular with bees and butterflies. Drought and salt tolerant. Deer resistant. Photo: Wikipedia.