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Leek

Leek — The leek , Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum (L.), also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to the Alliaceae family. Two related vegetables, the elephant garlic and kurrat, are also variant subspecies of Allium ampeloprasum, although different in their uses as food. The edible part of the leek plant …

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Lavender

Lavender — The Lavenders Lavandula are a genus of about 25-30 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region south to tropical Africa and to the southeast regions of India. The genus includes annuals, herbaceous plants, subshrubs, and small shrubs. The native range extends across the Canary Islands, North and East Africa, south Europe …

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Laurel, Sweet Bay

Laurel, Sweet Bay — The Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae), also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, or Bay Tree, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10–18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region. The leaves are 6–12 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with a characteristic finely serrated and wrinkled margin. It is …

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Laurel, California

Laurel, California — Umbellularia californica is a tree native to coastal forests of western North America. Its pungent leaves have a similar flavor to bay leaves (though stronger), and it may be mistaken for Bay Laurel. In Oregon, this tree is known as Oregon Myrtle, while in California it is called California Bay Laurel, which may be shortened to California …

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Lady’s Slippers

Lady’s Slippers — Lady Slippers (aka Lady’s Slipper, Lady’s-slipper, Ladyslipper) is a term used to describe the orchids in the subfamily Cypripedioidea, which includes the genera Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium and Selenipedium, distinguished by their slipper-shaped pouches (modified labellums), which function by trapping insects so that they are forced to climb up past the staminode, behind which they collect or …

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Kumquat

Kumquat — The kumquats or cumquats are a group of small fruit-bearing trees in the subgenus Fortunella of the genus Citrus in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, often segregated as a separate genus Fortunella. The edible fruit (which is also called kumquat) closely resembles that of other Citrus but is smaller. They are slow-growing, evergreen shrubs or small trees, from …

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Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi — Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group) is a low, stout cultivar of the cabbage that will grow almost anywhere. It has been selected for its swollen, nearly spherical, Sputnik-like shape. The name comes from the German Kohl (“cabbage”) plus Rübe Rabi (“turnip”), because the swollen stem resembles the latter. Kohlrabi has been created by artificial selection for lateral meristem …

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Kentucky Coffee Tree

Kentucky Coffee Tree — The Kentucky Coffeetree, Gymnocladus dioicus, is a tree in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to the midwest of North America. The range is limited, occurring from the far south of Ontario, Canada and in the United States from Kentucky (where it was first encountered by Europeans) and western Pennsylvania in the east, …

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