- Type
- Leafy Greens
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Season
- Spring·Fall
- Sowing
- From seed
Gobagi (bitter wild greens)
Ixeridium dentatum
Bitter lactones and white sap, in a field green that survives the winter
Gobagi is the Korean name the Donguibogam attaches to gochae, the bitter herb of its vegetable section. The text says it grows in the fields and does not die through the winter, which earned it the alternative name yudong, winter wanderer. It describes leaves like those of chicory but narrower, white sap when you snap the stem, and yellow flowers resembling chrysanthemum. It even sets a gathering date, the third day of the third lunar month, with drying in the shade. Today the name is read broadly, covering the milky-sapped bitter composites gathered in spring: ssumbagwi, godeulppaegi and bangajittong. These sit in three different genera, so the name is a habit of the kitchen rather than a botanical group. The English name sow thistle belongs strictly to bangajittong (Sonchus), only one of the three, and does not name the other two. In Korean markets you meet them in spring as bitter namul, and the seed germinates readily in a pot.
Year-Round Calendar
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Where It Grows
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Main producer
Common in fields and on field banks nationwide, and in South Jeolla and North Jeolla it is also grown in cultivated fields for godeulppaegi kimchi. Harvest April, May, June, October, November
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- Wild population It grows wild in the fields of North and Central China, where it is treated as kucai, a bitter potherb.
- Wild population Common in fields and on field banks.
Gobagi is not one species but a shared name for a number of species spread across three genera: Ixeridium (sseumbagwi), Crepidiastrum (godeulppaegi) and Sonchus (banggajittong). Sseumbagwi and godeulppaegi are native to East Asia, while banggajittong originates in Europe and West Asia and has naturalised in many parts of the world, so drawing them on a single map overlays the ranges of different species. Korea is about the only place where it is planted and grown in fields; in the other countries it is gathered from the wild.
- Optimum
- 15~22℃
- Range
- 5~25℃
- Hardiness
- Hardy
In cool weather the leaves are tender; strong sun or dry ground sharpens the bitterness. It overwinters (passes the winter in place) with its leaves pressed flat to the ground, then puts out its most tender leaves in early spring. It is not particular about soil and comes up even in poor ground.
In Korea Nationwide
Common nationwide in fields and along paddy and field banks. The leaves are picked in early spring and late autumn, and godeulppaegi meant to be used root and all is dug up in autumn.
How to grow
- Light
- Four hours of direct sun or more. Stronger light makes the leaves more bitter; in partial shade they come out milder and softer.
- Soil and depth
- Undemanding. Ordinary potting mix at pH 6.0 to 7.0 is fine, and it grows in poor soil too.
- Spacing
- 15 to 20 cm between plants, or two to three in a 20 cm pot.
- Watering
- Water when the surface dries. It handles drought well, but going short makes the leaves tough and pushes the bitterness up.
- Feeding
- A base dressing usually covers it. If you plan to pick leaves continuously, a dilute liquid feed every three weeks helps. Overfeeding gives you soft, thin, stretched leaves.
- Harvest
- Start pulling outer leaves 40 to 50 days after sowing. Once a flower stalk rises the leaves toughen quickly, so cut buds out as you see them. For godeulppaegi used root and all, lift the whole plant in autumn.
What makes the difference. The old line about surviving the winter is literally true. Sow in autumn and the plant flattens into a rosette, sits out the cold, and gives you its tenderest leaves in early spring. To reduce bitterness, blanch and then soak in cold water for 30 minutes; to keep it, skip the blanching and salt the leaves briefly instead. The seed flies on a dandelion-style parachute, so cut the flower stalks before they set if you do not want it everywhere.
Common problems
- Aphids You will see Dense black or green clusters on shoot tips and flower stalks What to do Wash them off with water and leave any ladybirds alone. If it gets bad, spray a soy-lecithin oil mix onto the leaf undersides.
- Powdery mildew You will see White flour-like patches spreading across the leaf surface What to do Thin the planting for airflow and remove affected leaves.
- Slugs You will see Holes in young leaves with silvery slime trails What to do Pick them off after dark and ring the pot with diatomaceous earth.
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
The Donguibogam record — name, nature and taste, form, gathering. The Donguibogam lists the plant in the Vegetable section as 苦菜, gochae, and gobagi is the Korean name attached to that entry; the plants it covers are called ssumbagwi and godeulppaegi today. It gives the plant a cold nature, a bitter taste and no toxicity, while setting down a variant reading that calls it slightly toxic. It records that the plant grows in the fields and does not die through the winter, which earned it the second name 遊冬, yudong. It describes leaves like those of chicory but narrower, white sap when the stem is snapped, and yellow flowers resembling chrysanthemum. It also sets a gathering date, the third day of the third lunar month, with drying in the shade. This is an old medical record and differs from modern medical judgement.
Research on the bitter compounds. Antioxidant activity assays on sesquiterpene lactones from bitter composites have been reported repeatedly. Almost all of it sits at the laboratory level, and whether the same holds at the amounts eaten as a namul has not been established.
Nutrition
- Sesquiterpene lactones (In the white latex) — The source of the bitterness
- Inulin (The storage polysaccharide of the root) — A fibre fermented in the gut
- Beta-carotene, calcium and iron (Concentrated in the leaves) — Denser in the earliest spring leaves
The bitterness is sesquiterpene lactones The white sap that runs when you break the stem carries sesquiterpene lactones. That is what the bitterness actually is, and it belongs to the same chemical family as lactucin in lettuce sap. Stronger bitterness means more of the compound, which is why soaking the greens to make them mild also strips out what you were eating them for.
Inulin in the root The roots of these bitter composites store inulin. It is a fibre that passes the small intestine unabsorbed and ferments in the colon, so godeulppaegi kimchi, which uses the whole plant root and all, delivers more fibre than eating the leaves alone.
Beta-carotene, calcium, iron Early spring leaves are dense in beta-carotene, and the calcium and iron are respectable for a leafy green. Leaves that have overwintered concentrate the most, and taste correspondingly more bitter. Dressing with perilla oil helps the fat-soluble beta-carotene across.
Pairings
○ Gochujang and vinegar — Dressing the blanched greens in chogochujang, gochujang cut with vinegar and a little sugar, props bitterness up with acidity and sweetness. Squeeze the water out hard after blanching or the dressing goes thin. Chili Pepper (Gochu)
○ Perilla oil and sesame — Oil blunts the bitterness and helps you absorb the beta-carotene in the leaf. It is the least fussy way to make a side dish out of these greens. Sesame
○ Jeotgal and garlic — Godeulppaegi kimchi salts the whole plant, then ferments it with salted seafood and garlic, converting bitterness rather than removing it. Give it two to three weeks before the edge softens. Garlic
△ Asteraceae allergy — All of these bitter greens are in the daisy family. Anyone who reacts to mugwort or ragweed pollen may get oral allergy syndrome, an itchy or swollen mouth, from eating them. Try a small amount first and watch what happens.
△ Anything picked from a roadside — These plants are commonest exactly where you should not harvest them: verges, parking lot cracks, waste ground where dogs walk and herbicide gets sprayed. If you do not know what has been on the soil, do not eat it. Sowing seed in a pot removes the problem entirely.
△ A lot on an empty stomach — The original text calls the nature of this plant cold, and one edition adds that it carries slight toxicity. Strongly bitter greens on an empty stomach can leave you with heartburn, so treat them as a side dish alongside rice.
Varieties
- Ssambagwi (Seed) — The wild green most widely taken for 苦菜 in Korea. Narrow leaves, strongly bitter.
- Godeulppaegi (Seed) — The bitter green made into kimchi. Used root and all.
- Common sow thistle (Seed) — Broad leaves with spiny teeth. This is the species English calls sow thistle.
- Seon-ssambagwi (Seed) — Flowers range from white to pale purple; especially common on urban waste ground.
Source: Donguibogam, Vegetable Section (苦菜) · Korean Plant Names Index · Rural Development Administration (nongsaro.go.kr)