One of the distinctive things about mitsuba is its trefoil shape. This gives a decorative touch to dishes where mitsuba is used as a garnish.
As my mitsuba sprouted, I was pleased yet a little puzzled. The tiny leaves on the sprouts were rounded, not three-lobed, and certainly not serrated. I didn't think the seed company had made a mistake, but it seemed odd. Today, however, the mystery was solved.
When I got home from work, I checked the garden (or "the farm," as my mother called it the last time I talked to her). One of the mitsuba sprouts was showing two new leaves, and these had the expected serrated trefoil shape, in miniature. I heaved a sigh of relief. All was well with the world again (or, at least, the world in that mitsuba pot).
2 comments:
Yeah, the first two leaves of plants often look significantly different than the rest of them - more plain and solid green. I think the plants do it to just get a jump-start on photosynthesis and not do all the fancy stuff with serration, coloration, etc.
Hi Suebob,
I think you're right, because my mother said something similar. The spinach was just like the mitsuba; the first leaves were very long and thin, not at all what I expected. Then the stems grew a little longer and the next set of leaves on the plant was a pair of typical spinach leaves. It makes sense that they get themselves "up and running" as quickly as possible.
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