Table 1.

Evolution of microgreen definitions across several decades.

Year	Common name	Scientific name	Definition	References
2004	Beet or Chard	Beta vulgaris L.	Microgreens have been defined as salad crop shoots harvested for consumption within 10–20 days of seedling emergence. Generally, microgreens have two fully developed cotyledon leaves, with the first pair of true leaves emerged or partially expanded, and during harvest they are cut above the soil line, whereas sprouts are mainly soaked in the water and younger, with the cotyledon not opened or just opened.	Lee et al., 2004
2005	Radish Kale Amaranth	Raphanus sativus Brassica napus var. Pabularia Amaranthus tricolor	… salad crop shoots for harvest and consumption within 10–20 days of seedling emergence (“microgreens”)	Lee and Pill 2005
2010	Arugula	Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa	Microgreens are salad crop shoots harvested for consumption within 10–20 d of seedling emergence.	Murphy et al., 2010
	Table beet	Beta vulgaris L.	Microgreens have been defined as salad crop shoots harvested for consumption within 10–20 days of seedling emergence, and they are developmentally classified between “sprouts” and “baby salads.”	Murphy et al., 2010
2011	Table beet	Beta vulgaris L.	Microgreens are defined as salad crop shoots harvested for consumption within 10–20 days of seedling emergence	Pill et al., 2011
2012	Florida Broadleaf	(Brassica juncea L.	Microgreens are a type of specialty leafy green harvested shortly after the first true leaves have emerged. They are harvested just above the roots and consumed fresh as salad greens.	Kopsell et al., 2012
	Broccoli	Brassica oleracea var. italica	Microgreens are young and tender cotyledonary leafy greens that are found in a pleasing palette of colors, textures and flavors.	Kou et al., 2012
			Harvested at the first true leaf stage and sold with the stem, cotyledons (seed leaves), and first true leaves attached, they are among a variety of novel salad greens available on the market that are typically distinguished categorically by their size and age. Sprouts, microgreens, and baby greens are simply those greens harvested and consumed in an immature state. Based on size or age of salad crop categories, sprouts are the youngest and smallest, microgreens are slightly larger and older (usually 2 in. tall), and baby greens are the oldest and largest (usually 3–4 in. tall).	Treadwell et al., 2012
2013	Broccoli	Brassica oleracea var. italica	Microgreens are specialty leafy crops harvested just above the roots after the first true leaves have emerged and are consumed fresh.	Kopsell and Sams 2013
	Tomato		Microgreens are seedlings of vegetable and herbs that are grown to fully opened cotyledons or first true leaf stage	Brazaityte et al., 2013
	Borage	Borago officinalis L.	Microgreens are a type of specialty leafy greens harvested shortly after the first true leaves have emerged. They are cut just above the roots and consumed fresh as salad greens	Virsile and Sitautas 2013
	Red cabbage Purple kohlrabi Purple mustards Mizuna	Brassica oleracea var. capitata B. oleracea var. gongylodes Brassica juncea B. juncea var. japonica	Microgreens are young edible greens produced from vegetables, herbs, or other plants, ranging in size from 5 to 10 cm long including stem and cotyledons (seed‐leaves).	Sun et al., 2013
	Broccoli	Brassica oleracea var. italica	Microgreens are young and tender cotyledon greens harvested within 7–14 d of vegetable seedling emergence	Kou et al., 2014
	Radish	Raphanus sativus	Microgreens are a new class of specialty vegetables that are often harvested at the cotyledonary leaf stage without roots and seed coats. They are tender cotyledonary‐leaf plants having vivid colors, intense flavors and tender textures …	Xiao et al., 2014a
2015	Mustard Red pak choi Tatsoi	Brassica juncea L. ‘Red Lion Brassica rapa var. chinensis ‘Rubi F1’ Brassica rapa var. rosularis	Microgreens are seedlings of vegetables and herbs that are grown to the fully opened cotyledon or first true leaf stages.	Brazaityte et al., 2015a
	Daikon radish	Raphanus sativus L.var. longipinnatus	They are young seedlings of vegetables, herbs, or other plants, with cotyledons fully developed and the first pair of true leaves emerged or partially expanded.	Xiao et al., 2015a
	Red cabbage	Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. rubra	Microgreens are tender immature plants produced from the seeds of vegetables (such as red cabbage) and herbs having two fully developed cotyledon leaves with or without the emergence of a rudimentary pair of first true leaves.	Huang et al., 2016
	Rapini	Brassica rapa L.	Microgreens, an emerging category of edible greens, are tender seedlings produced from the seeds of different species of vegetables, aromatic herbs and herbaceous plants, including wild edible species. Microgreens are generally harvested 7–21 days after germination, when cotyledonary leaves are fully developed, with or without the emergence of a small pair of true leaves.	Di Gioia et al., 2016
	Arugula Watercress Mustard Dijon Cauliflower	Eruca sativa Mill. Nasturtium officinale L. Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis	They are young seedlings of vegetables herbs, harvested when cotyledons are fully developed and the first pair of true leaves are emerging or partially expanded.	Xiao et al., 2016
2016	Purple kohlrabi Mizuna Mustard	(Brassica oleracea L. var. gongylodes L.) Brassica rapa L. var. japonica Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. ‘Garnet Giant	Microgreens and baby greens are a relatively new specialty crop appearing in many upscale markets and restaurants. Collectively, these crops consist of vegetables and herbs consumed at a young growth stage. The main difference between the two is that microgreens are harvested at the base of the hypocotyl when the first set of true leaves start to emerge, while baby greens are harvested after the first set of true leaves has developed, generally >21 d after germination	Gerovac et al., 2016
	Rye	Secale cereale	A microgreen has a single central stem, which has been cut just above the soil during harvesting …. The seedlings are well suited for local growers because microgreens are harvested just 7–14 days after germination when the cotyledons (seed leaves) have fully developed and before the true leaves have expanded	Lobiuc et al., 2017a
	Garden pea Carrot Amaranth	Pisum sativum Daucus carota Amarantuhus tricolor	vegetables, grains and herbs grown to the phenological phase of cotyledons, or to the development of the first pair of true leaves	Andrejiova et al., 2017
	Mustard Beet Parsley	Brassica juncea L., ‘Red Lion’ Beta vulgaris L., ‘Bulls Blood’ Petroselinum crispum Mill., ‘Plain Leaved or French’	Microgreens are harvested at the first true leaf stage of growth and belong to the group of “functional foods,” and have higher levels of bioactive compounds	Samuoliene et al., 2017
2017	Kale	Brassica oleracea L.	Kale was grown to five defined developmental stages, fully expanded cotyledon (microgreen 1 or MG1), seedlings with two true leaves (microgreen 2 or MG2), seedlings with four true leaves (baby green 1 or BL1), seedlings with six true leaves (baby green 2or BL2), and mature plants with more than eight true leaves (adult).	Waterland et al., 2017
	Alfalfa Swiss chard	Medicago sativa L. Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris	Microgreens are harvested just above the roots when the cotyledons are fully formed or the first true leaves have emerged. They can be grown in soil or soil substitutes or hydroponically and require high‐light conditions for efficient growth. Microgreens are halfway in size between sprouts and their older counterparts, such as baby spinach, but deliver the most in terms of flavor and nutritional values compared to the other two types of crops.	Reed et al., 2018
2018	Molfetta Trocadero Mugnuli	Cichorium intybus L. Lactuca sativa L. Brassica oleracea L.	They are young and tender vegetables, obtained from the seeds of numerous species (vegetables, herbaceous plants, aromatic herbs and wild edible plants), harvested a few days or weeks after germination, when the cotyledons are fully developed and the first true leaves may be emerging	Paradiso et al., 2018
2019	Coriander Jute Swiss chard	Coriandrum sativum Corchorus olitorius Beta vulgaris	Microgreens constitute a novel specialty crop, defined as immature greens harvested 51 without roots from the tender seedlings of vegetables, herbs, grains and wild crop relatives	Kyriacou et al., 2019
2020	Amaranth Kale Kohlrabi	Amaranthus cruentus L. Brassica oleracea var. sabellica Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group	Microgreens are newly sprouted, immature plants without roots that are harvested after the development of the cotyledon leaves, or seed leaves, usually between 10 and 14 days from seeding	Tan et al., 2020
2021	Fenugreek Green pea	Trigonella foenum-graecum L. Pisum sativum L.	Microgreens are tender immature greens produced from the seeds of vegetables, herbs, or grains, inclusive of the wild relatives	Kowitcharoen et al., 2021
2022	Chinese basil	Perilla frutescens var. crispa	Microgreens are young vegetable seedlings harvested generally after the complete development of the cotyledons and/or the formation of the first leaves; they are considered innovative and emerging foods.	Dimita et al., 2022
	Lutfibey Bilensoy Dadas Arda Sazak Amazon Arifiye	Onobrychis sativa Medicago sativa Trifolium pratense Cicer arietinum Lens culinaris Vigna unguiculata Zea mays	Microgreens with a stem and cotyledon leaves are harvested before the true leaves emerge, when they are 5–10 cm in height depending on the plant	Altuner et al., 2022