Collards are one of the oldest members of the cabbage group.
These leafy, non-heading cabbages originated in the eastern Mediterranean or Asia Minor and are the wild forms of cabbage first used for food in prehistoric times. They were cultivated by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and either the Romans or the Celts introduced them to Britain and France. 400 B.C. The first mention of collards in America was in 1669, but they may have existed here much earlier. They grow in warm weather better and can tolerate more cold weather in the late fall than any other member of the cabbage family. Although collards are popular substitutes for cabbage in the South, they can also be grown in northern areas because of their tolerance to frost.