Spinach

(Spinacia oleracea)

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) was probably first cultivated in Persia 2000 years ago. It spread through the Islamic world, and finally entered France and Britain about 700 years ago. It quickly replaced spinach beet and chard in popularity. The popular idea that spinach is very high in iron is a myth, due to a misplaced decimal point in a calculation by a Dr von Wolf at the end of the 1800s. This was corrected long ago, but the myth persists. (Sorry, Popeye!)