Addictive Greenery

Does anyone remember the reason why Rapunzel was up in that tower in the first place?

If you are a bit rusty on your fairy tales, you're probably grabbing a coin right now to toss - heads is evil/domineering/tyrannical (step)father, tails is wicked witch. (Am I riiight?)

The version I read as a kid is all about the witch. But what did a mean old lady ever have against a somewhat ditsy/spazzy girl with super-long hair? I've got the answer to that, too. And you see, it all comes around to the father - although this guy was less evil and more bumbling. Apparently Rapunzel's mom had an intense and prolonged craving for something green and leafy and made Mr R. steal some from a forbodingly walled garden. And you can probably guess how things went from there.

But wait...green and leafy cravings? No, my Grimm's wasn't a thinly-veiled pro-drug manifesto (at least, not in this instance), and I know this because the veggie was clearly named. Problem is, I can't find the book, so I'm not 100% sure what that name was.

My instinct was arugula (aka rocket - yeah!), probably because I get unnatural urges to consume large quantities of this particular lettuce. But upon reflection and introspection, I'm now thinking the leaf in question was rapini. Plus, it sounds like Rapunzel, which is nice...because that's a ridiculous name, princess or no. (And actually, was she even a princess?) Rapini is also known as broccoli rabe/raabe/raape/rape...yipes..., a lot of other Italian words, and possibly mustard greens. It looks pretty boring and doesn't seem to have any addictive properties. I don't think I've ever consciously eaten any though, so it may be exquisitely delicious. You'll have to take Rapunzel's mom's word for it.

Oh, there's another option for what herb the aforementioned mother was hungering for - rampion. This one's an obscure Medieval English thing and is kind of like a turnip. And there's your dose of general knowledge for the day.