Looks like Red Russian kale.

Or maybe one of the ornamental kales?

well when i took the cutting the ends were flat, now white strings are coming out of the end, so im assuming its rooting??

You're right those could be roots. Kale roots easily from the stems but I've never seen it do so from leaf petioles. The next question is what do you propose to do with the plants? Red Russian is a hardy kale which will overwinter outdoors in many climates. Where do you live? And if you do plant it out you may or may not get a tasty vegetable plant from it. I don't know how it will behave from a single leaf cutting. It would be interesting to find out how it develops.

honestly i saw it growing at the super market in a container and pinched a few leaves just for fun to see what would happen because i though it was so beautiful. can it live as a houseplant?

I'm afraid it is unlikely to last long in normal indoor conditions. It is a hardy vegetable. It needs ample light and cool temperatures. Here's one growing on my allotment in November.

dangit well it sure is lovely! thanks everyone for the help.

If you have any outdoor space, it will grow in a pot, though depending where you are it may or may not overwinter in a pot. Mine has overwintered once in the garden in a particularly warm winter, but never in a pot.

Kale roots easily from the stems but I've never seen it do so from leaf petioles.

==>>> probably had some tiny part of stem material on it ...

dad used to 'pinch' leaves ... its one of the reasons .. our local nurseries are not profiting or surviving ...come on.. support our local enablers ....

ken

i support all my local nurseries. supermarkets? not so much. please don't patronize me and try to start problems, sir. this thread was perfectly ambivalent until you showed up preaching.

Ambivalent???

Ambitious? Ambiguous? Ambidextrous?

Oh, amiable...or is it amicable...maybe its abominable or is that abdominal?

tj

I'm sorry that you've put yourself in the position of being scolded, Sandy, but Ken is absolutely right. If you think that it's okay to break off pieces of plants at a nursery, garden center, public or private planting, then those plants will look pretty terrible by the end of the day after a dozen more people like you get through with them.

What you should do, Sandy Maszle, is to take your pictures without damaging the plant, in situ, as many thousands of people have before visiting the Gardenweb. The vast majority of us know not to 'rip off' or 'pinch' pieces of someone else's plants. Funny....both of those terms also mean to steal or rob.

Ask a garden center owner how he/she feels about it. There won't be any ambivalence in the reply. Had you ever thought of your act as dishonest?

Shoot, I just came across this & was hoping to hear her reply....:(