A cool-season biennial crucifer, Brassica oleracea var. acephala, similar to nonheading cabbage. Collard is of Mediterranean origin and is grown for its rosette of leaves which are cooked fresh as a vegetable (see illus.). Kale and collard differ only in the form of their leaves; both have been referred to as coleworts, a name taken from the Anglo-Saxon term meaning cabbage plants.