Down to the roots

HANNAH STEPHENSON FINDS OUT WHAT A MANGELWURZEL IS AND HOW TO GROW IT

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It sounds like a dishevelled scarecrow, but the mangelwurzel is the latest unusual vegetable to take social media by storm.

It used to be used as cattle fodder, but is actually a quirky relative of beetroot, sugar beet and chard, producing a huge root with chard-like leaves, which can be cooked and enjoyed.

It comes in red, yellow and white, producing large bulbous roots under leafy greens which resemble those of Swiss chard and are nutritious.

Heritage seed company She Grows Veg is among the few bringing back the mangelwurzel to amateur UK gardeners and co-founder Kate Cotterill, with Lucy Hutchings, says the trend "has gone absolutely bonkers" on social media.

"If you remember Worzel Gummidge (the scarecrow played by actor Jon Pertwee), that was his head. It was relegated to become cattle fodder, but historically it used to be consumed by humans, and now allotmenteers are going crazy for it," she says.

WHAT IS ITS HISTORY?