Its flavor is described as being between spinach and water chestnuts but slightly sweeter, with a mildly peppery undertone.

Other than the term "Chinese cabbage", the most widely used name in North America for the chinensis variety is bok choy (Cantonese for "white vegetable") or siu bok choy (Cantonese, for "small white vegetable", as opposed to dai bok choy meaning "big white vegetable", referring to the larger Napa cabbage).

There are two main types of bok choy, collectively called 小白菜 xiǎo bái cài ("small white vegetable") in Mandarin.

'white vegetable'; the same characters pronounced bái cǎi by Mandarin speakers are preferably used for Napa cabbage[4]).

'small Chinese vegetable') with light green stalks, which is more common in East China; the young and tender plants of green bok choy is called baby bok choy (Chinese: 雞毛菜; lit.

[5] In Australia, the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries has redefined many transcribed names to refer to specific cultivars.

[1] It can be traced to the Yangtze River delta area, one of the world's oldest agricultural regions.

[15] It also has been traced to the Yellow River Valley where archaeologists found Chinese cabbage seeds dating back 6,000 years.

[16] As bok choy grew in use, it spread to other parts of Asia and was eventually cultivated in countries such as Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.