Scientific name: cucurbita pepo
The courgette (or zucchini) is technically a fruit but most people call it a vegetable and it is usually in cookbooks as a vegetable. You can get courgettes in two colours - dark green and bright yellow.
The courgette is a member of the squash family, and is very closely related to squash and pumpkins, so close that the plants can cross-pollinate.
Courgettes need to be picked young or they get hard and woody and are not good to eat. They have a soft skin so they don't need to be peeled before cooking. They can be cooked in a variety of different ways; steamed, boiled, grilled, stuffed and baked, barbecued, fried, or in stews and other dishes. The flowers are sometimes eaten stuffed, or stuffed, dipped in batter and deep fried.
Scientific name: lepidium sativum
Cress is a herb with a very sharp, peppery taste that is very easy to grow. It is related to mustard.
Cress can be grown inside by sprinkling the seeds over some damp potting soil and left on a window ledge. Cress can be harvested simply by cutting the plants off with scissors when they have a few leaves.
Cress is very tasty on salads, or in egg and cress sandwiches.
Scientific name: crocus sativus
Crocuses are small flowers that grow from a bulb under the ground. They come in a huge range of colours. Most crocuses only grow to a few inches tall. They usually grow one flower each year before they grow their leaves.
Scientific name: cucumis sativus
Cucumbers are in the same family as watermelons. They grow on a vine, and are technically a fruit but are usually treated as a vegetable.
Cucumbers have an extremely mild flavour and are usually used in salads and sandwiches. Cucumbers can be pickled; pickled cucumbers are called gherkins.
Scientific name: cuminum cyminum
Scientific name: cycas revoluta
A cycad is an ancient family of plants that look similar to a palm tree or a fern but is not actually related to either of them. Cycads grow seeds in large cones. They are extremely hardy plants, and many people keep them in pots in their houses. The cycad's cones are very easy to see in the picture.
Scientific name: cyclamen hederifolium
Cyclamen are small, pretty plants originally native to the area around Spain to Iran. They grow leaves from an underground tuber, and they die down over summer in hot areas. Cyclamen are frost tolerant. They have very attractive plants and are usually kept as decorative indoor plants. They are edible, and in some areas of the world are considered a delicacy.
