It's hardy, surviving harsh winters and growing where cabbage often can't (leading to the name 'Hungry Gap' for one variety).

Long forgotten is the hungry gap when a couple of spears of purple-sprouting broccoli would be pounced upon, pimped and paraded.

Then there would be the gathering of wild and cultivated fruits and vegetables and fungi to be stored for the 'hungry gap' of the winter.

There are perennials to harvest at any time of year, but where they really come into their own is early in the season, during the "hungry gap" when few annuals have germinated, never mind grown.

In cultivation of vegetables in a British-type climate, the hungry gap is the gardeners' name for the period in spring when there is little or no fresh produce available from a vegetable garden or allotment.