Meristem tissue is also located in the sides of stems, in addition to in the terminal and axillary buds. This lateral meristem tissue is what allows the stem to grow outwards, not just upwards, to support the growing plant. To understand the morphological origins of kohlrabi, you can start by imagining kale and thinking through the changes required to transmogrify it into kohlrabi. When you buy kale in the store, it usually comes in a bundle of leaves, all cut from the main stem from which they grew, so you might never have contemplated the main stalk of the kale plant. This main stem is not as thick as the cabbage core, but it still can be substantial (see the stem in the Brussels sprouts images above). This fleshy, edible stem is packed with parenchyma cells. Parenchyma cells store nutrients and chemicals synthesized by the plants and provide structural support. New parenchyma cells originate from–you guessed it–parenchyma meristem in the stem. Now imagine the parenchyma tissue in this main axis proliferating, allowing massive expansion of the radius of the base of main stem, morphing the stem into a thick, squat bulb. That is the domestication history of kohlrabi, recorded in Europe since the 15th century (Vaughan and Geissler 2009). The leaves are often cut off in kohlrabi at the grocery store, just leaving little spikes of petiole, but if they are left on, you can immediately see (and taste) the similarity to collard green leaves. The skin on the kohlrabi is tough – sometimes the lateral meristem has produced a thin layer of wood – and it should usually be peeled off. Then you can either thinly slice the kohlrabi into rounds or julienne slice it to enjoy it fresh, or you can cube it and roast or steam it and dress it however you’d like. Julienne-cut fresh kohlrabi is great combined with similarly cut fresh apple or pear and onion and tossed with a mustard vinaigrette into a unique slaw.