Not to be semantically confused with : charred [a different word meaning 'burnt' but with an identical pronunciation - a homonym]. Kitchen parlance: The char lady charred the chard!

Some similarities to : Sea Beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima) to which the cultivated leafy vegetables are all related.

There are many slightly differing Chards cultivated for various aesthetic, taste, growability or reliability reasons. Rhubarb Chard also has ribbed red stems. The so-called 'Rainbow Chard' is simply a bunched mixture of different-coloured chards sold in bundles to catch the shoppers eye, it is not a separate cultivar.

All these Chards are derived from Beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris), such as Beetroot, Sugar Beet, Mangel-wurzel, Spinach Beet, but they are all segregated into 5 Cultivar-Groups of Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris, namely:

• Altissima-Group - to which Sugar Beet belongs.
• Cicla-Group to which Spinach Beet aka Chard belong (including Ruby Chard and other Chards with thickened mid-ribs sometimes grown in gardens for ornament)
• Flavescens-Group to which Swiss Chard belongs. Those Swiss Chards with thickened stems are thought to have arisen from mutations in Spinach Beet - which is in the Cicla-Group.
• Conditiva-Group to which Beetroot belongs
• Crassa-Group to which Mangel-wurzel belongs.

Chard is harvested in the Spring but most of these specimens have flowered, possibly too early because of the very mild and sunny month of May in 2016, which according to averages published by the met office, was warmer than June, July or August of the same year! Young fresh can be eaten raw as a salad but mature leaves are cooked, which reduces their bitterness. Your Author has never had chard, and wonders if he is missing anything?