Spinach is a herbaceous plant whose leaves, green and arranged in rosette, are eaten raw or cooked. The leaves have an oval shape and are wrinkled; they can be whole or sawed. It is a very nutritious, tasteful and easy-to-digest plant. The Arabs regarded it as the queen of vegetables.

Like most of the leafy vegetables, it has a great content of water and a low percentage of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. It stands out for its high nutritional richness, since its vitamin and mineral content is higher than the rest of vegetables.

Spinach has a great content of water and a low percentage of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. It has a great nutritional value, being one of the richest vegetables in calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium, as well as in vitamin A, C and folic acid. Spinach is a powerful treatment against anaemia, to accelerate the replacement of blood after any operation, as well as to treat internal haemorrhages.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a herbaceous plant whose leaves, green and arranged in rosette, are eaten raw or cooked. The leaves have an oval shape and are wrinkled; they can be whole or sawed. It is a very nutritious, tasteful and easy-to-digest plant. The Arabs regarded it as the queen of vegetables.

Like most of the leafy vegetables, it has a great content of water and a low percentage of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. It stands out for its high nutritional richness, since its vitamin and mineral content is higher than the rest of vegetables. It is one of the richest vegetables in calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium, as well as in vitamin A, C and folic acid. However, its richness in oxalic acid represents a problem since this compound interferes in the absorption of calcium, sodium and potassium.

Spinach are available in autumn and spring. They can also be found during the summer months, although their quality is somewhat inferior. They can be frozen, so they can be consumed like this all over the year.

It is recommended to choose fresh spinach of dark green and uniform colour. At home, they are kept in the fridge for 15 days, in a perforated plastic bag.

Spinach is a highly perishable vegetable and does not keep its quality for more than two weeks. The optimal conditions for its storage are temperature around 0ºC and a percentage of 95-98% of relative moisture.

This is one of the most consumed and popular vegetables. It is a basic ingredient of the spinach cream and the dish called "espinacas a la catalana’, which combines raisins and pine nuts. It is also consumed in soups.

Spinach belongs to the Chenopodiaceous family; its botanical name is Spinacia oleracea (L). It is an annual plant, consumed when young; later on it gives rise to a floral stem and loses all its commercial value as an edible plant.

During the first stage, the plant forms a rosette of leaves. This stage has a variable duration according to the climatic conditions; later on it gives rise to the stem. Some lateral small stems are born from the axyls of the leaves or directly from the neck, giving rise to secondary branches, that will become the flowers. There are masculine, feminine and even hermaphrodite plants. Them are easily differentiated among them since the feminine plants have a larger number of basal leaves and the seed takes a longer time to develop. For that reason they have a higher output. The leaves are fleshy and arrow-shaped in the original types. There are also wrinkled, even and bulky leaves.

The root system is superficial. The root is long and thick, of a reddish colour and a slightly sweet taste. The stem is long and fleshy, turgescent, measuring from 30 cm to 1 m long.

The leaves are caulíferae, more or less alternate and petiolate, of variable shape and consistency depending on the variety. They are of a dark green colour. The petiole is concave and often red in the base, with a variable length, that diminishes progressively when it has to bear the recently formed leaves, disappearing in those placed in the highest part of the stem.

The masculine flowers are gathered in groups of 6-12 in the terminal spikes or axyls. They are of a green colour and they consist of a perianth formed by 4 to 5 petals and 4 stamina. The feminine flowers gather up in axillary glomerules and are formed by a bi or tetradentado perianth, with ovaries of a single ovul, unique style and a stigma divided in 3-5 segments.

The germination capacity lasts for 4 years. This plant prefers cold conditions, bearing them very well. It grows easily in sandy or clay soils.