Spinach

Spinach is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central and Western Asia, whose leaves are a common vegetable eaten fresh, cooked, or after preservation by canning, freezing or dehydration; its taste differs considerably between raw and cooked preparation, and its naturally high oxalate content can be reduced by blanching. An annual plant, rarely biennial, growing as tall as 30 centimeters, spinach may overwinter in temperate regions, its alternate, simple leaves ranging widely in size and shape and its small, inconspicuous flowers maturing into small, hard fruit.