Type: Leafy Greens
Difficulty: Easy
Season: Spring·Fall
Sowing: From seed

Leafy Greens

Crown Daisy (Ssukgat)

Glebionis coronaria

Beta-carotene and aromatic oils in a strongly scented leafy green

Crown daisy (ssukgat), the edible chrysanthemum green, is an Asteraceae leaf vegetable whose distinctive fragrance comes from its essential oils. It carries plenty of beta-carotene along with potassium, calcium, and iron. Add it to hot pots and soups, where its scent comes alive, or blanch it briefly and dress it as a namul side dish. Because it favors cool weather, it grows best in spring and fall.

Year-Round Calendar

Sowing

Harvest

Where It Grows

Main producer Major producer Latitudes at 15–20℃ Zoom and pan to explore · temperatures are rough zonal averages

Main producer Known there as tonghao, it is widely grown across eastern and southern China. Shipments surge during the winter hot-pot season.
Major producer Called shungiku, it is used as a vegetable for hot-pot dishes. Chiba, Osaka, and Fukuoka are the main production areas.
Major producer It is grown in open fields in spring and autumn, and under protected cultivation (greenhouses) in winter. Harvest May, June, October, November
5. 5
6. 6
10. 10
11. 11
Major producer It is grown as a winter vegetable on the central plains.

Because it is native to the Mediterranean coast and cannot be traced to any single country, no country-of-origin row has been included. In Europe, its actual homeland, it is still regarded simply as a flower for garden beds and is hardly ever grown as a vegetable. Eating it as a vegetable and growing it commercially are almost entirely confined to East Asia — China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The FAO does not count this crop separately, so there is no data with which to rank countries by production.

Optimum: 15~20℃
Range: 5~25℃
Hardiness: Half-hardy
Day length: Long-day

It favors cool weather and grows best at 15–20℃. Once temperatures pass 25℃ or the days grow longer, it bolts — sending up flower stalks — and the leaves turn tough. It is tender to frost, so overwintering (keeping plants alive outdoors through winter) in open fields is possible only along the southern coast.

In Korea Nationwide

Sowing in spring (March–April) and autumn (August–September) is the norm; midsummer is difficult because the plants bolt. Winter supply comes from protected (greenhouse) cultivation.

How to grow

Light: Somewhere sunny. A cool-season crop
Soil and depth: 15cm deep. A pot is fine
Spacing: 15cm
Watering: When the surface dries
Feeding: The base dressing is usually enough
Harvest: Cut the shoots at about 20cm. Side shoots follow

What makes the difference. Once it flowers the leaves toughen. Cut the flower stalk the moment you see it

Common problems

Aphids You will see Clusters on new growth What to do The strong scent keeps most pests away. Wash off any you see

This page describes how a crop is grown and used. It does not claim health effects for any food, nor is it intended to prevent or treat disease. Component and study notes are references only and do not mean the same result occurs in people. Consult a medical professional about health concerns.

Health Benefits

What the old text says - Bencao Gangmu, tonghao. The vegetable section of the Chinese Bencao Gangmu carries an entry for tonghao, crown daisy, and records that the name came from its resemblance to ponghao, a mugwort-like plant. This is a record from an old medical text, not a modern judgement.

What is known today - no human studies. No randomized controlled trial or meta-analysis of crown daisy (Glebionis coronaria, formerly Chrysanthemum coronarium) on its own appears in the international academic databases. The accurate thing to say is that nothing has been established in modern terms.

What is known today - cell and animal stage. Reports on the flavonoids, phenolic acids, and terpenoids of crown daisy sit almost entirely at the cell and animal stage. They are data of a kind that cannot be carried over as findings in people.

What is known today - composition. By the composition tables, crown daisy is a leafy green high in beta-carotene that also carries potassium, calcium, iron, and dietary fiber. That is as far as the current evidence goes.

Nutrition

Beta-carotene (Abundant) — The orange-range pigment common in leafy greens
Essential oils (aroma compounds) (Present) — The compounds behind the scent particular to crown daisy
Potassium and calcium (Present) — Minerals held in the leaves

Beta-carotene Crown daisy is among the leafy vegetables carrying more beta-carotene. It is a pigment that converts to vitamin A in the body.

Vitamin K, folate, calcium, iron & dietary fiber It carries vitamin K along with folate, calcium, iron, and dietary fiber in fairly even measure. Rather than one standout component, several micronutrients arrive together.

Essential oils The scent particular to crown daisy comes from the essential oils common to plants of the Asteraceae. Alpha-pinene, camphor, and limonene are among the aroma compounds reported in it.

Chlorophyll The deep green of crown daisy comes from the chlorophyll pigment. Nothing has yet been established in people, so what can be said stops at its being the pigment that makes the leaf color.

Flavonoids Crown daisy is reported to contain flavonoids such as apigenin and luteolin. No study has checked what changes, if any, occur in people who eat this vegetable.

Pairings

○ Jeongol, maeuntang, and haemultang (hot pots and spicy stews) — Dropping a handful of crown daisy in to finish a jeongol (Korean hot pot), maeuntang (spicy fish stew), or haemultang (spicy seafood stew) is a classic move on the Korean table. Its aroma lifts the flavor of the broth and cuts through richness, giving even the same broth a cleaner impression.

○ Grilled and braised fish — Crown daisy is often used to mask the fishy smell of seafood and round out its flavor. The most natural ways to use it are as a side to grilled fish or laid in a handful over a braise.

○ Tofu — Crown daisy tossed together with tofu makes a single-dish side with a good balance of plant protein, carotene, and minerals. The soft texture of the tofu carries the green's aroma, making it approachable even for people who aren't used to it.

○ Sesame oil and perilla oil — The fat in sesame oil and perilla oil boosts the absorption of crown daisy's fat-soluble vitamins, including beta-carotene. Using these two oils in a Korean-style muchim (seasoned toss) or blanched namul makes good nutritional sense.

○ Garlic and soy sauce — Tossing blanched crown daisy with garlic and soy sauce is the most basic Korean seasoning combination. The allicin in garlic and the savory depth of soy sauce blend with the green's flavor to make a side dish that holds its own at a meal. Garlic

△ Prolonged high-heat cooking — Crown daisy's aroma comes from its essential oils, so extended cooking drives off the fragrance and degrades the nutrients too. The accepted technique is to add it briefly at the very end of cooking to preserve its aroma.

△ Asteraceae (daisy family) allergy — Crown daisy belongs to the Asteraceae (daisy) family, so people allergic to related plants such as ragweed or chrysanthemums may experience cross-reactions. If you notice any suspicious symptoms, avoid it.

Varieties

Large-leaf type (Seed) — Thick, broad leaves give the heaviest pick per plant, and the mild scent lets you add it freely to soups and hot pots.
Medium-leaf type (Seed) — Middling in both leaf size and scent, which makes it the easy all-purpose choice for a home bed.
Small-leaf type (Seed) — Finely cut leaves with the strongest scent; it grows fast, so thin it and eat the young leaves.

Source: Food and Nutrition Information