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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Brassica oleracea''
| image = Brassica oleracea0.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Wild Cabbage plants
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Brassicales]]
| familia = [[Brassicaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Brassica]]''
| species = '''''B. oleracea'''''
| binomial = ''Brassica oleracea''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''''Brassica oleracea''''' or '''Wild Cabbage''', is a species of ''[[Brassica]]'' native to coastal southern and western [[Europe]], where its tolerance of [[sodium chloride|salt]] and [[calcium carbonate|lime]] but intolerance of competition from other plants typically restricts its natural occurrence to [[limestone]] [[sea]] [[cliff]]s.
Wild ''B. olearacea'' is a tall [[biennial plant]], forming a stout rosette of large [[leaf|leaves]] in the first year, the leaves being fleshier and thicker than those of other species of ''Brassica'', adaptations to store water and nutrients in its difficult growing environment. In its second year, the stored nutrients are used to produce a [[flower]] spike 1–2 m tall bearing numerous yellow flowers.
===Cultivation and uses===
Although ''B. oleracea'' is believed to have been cultivated for several thousand years, its history as a domesticated plant is not clear before [[ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[ancient Rome|Roman]] times, when is known to be a well-established garden vegetable. [[Theophrastus]] mentions three kinds of this species: a curly-leaved, a smooth-leaved, and a wild-type.<ref>Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf, ''Domestication of plants in the Old World'', third edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 199.</ref> It has been bred into a wide range of [[cultivar]]s, including [[cabbage]], [[broccoli]], [[cauliflower]], and more, some of which are hardly recognisable as being members of the same species. It is one of the most important human food [[agriculture|crop]] plants. According to the [[Triangle of U]] theory, ''B. oleracea'' is very closely related to five other species of the genus ''[[Brassica]]''.
The plant is used because of its large food reserves, which are stored over the winter in its leaves. It is rich in essential nutrients including [[vitamin C]].
The cultivars of ''B. oleracea'' are grouped by developmental form into seven major [[cultivar|cultivar groups]], of which the Acephala Group remains most like the natural Wild Cabbage in appearance:
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Acephala Group]] - [[kale]] and [[collard greens]] (borekale)
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Alboglabra Group]] - [[kai-lan]] (Chinese broccoli)
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Botrytis Group]] - [[cauliflower]] (and Chou Romanesco)
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Capitata Group]] - [[cabbage]]
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Gemmifera Group]] - [[Brussels sprout]]s
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Gongylodes Group]] - [[kohlrabi]]
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Italica Group]] - [[broccoli]]
Some (notably [[Brussels sprout]]s and [[broccoli]]) contain high levels of [[sinigrin]] which is thought to help prevent [[colorectal cancer|bowel cancer]].
For other edible plants in the family Brassicaceae, see [[cruciferous vegetables]].
[[Image:brassica-garden.jpg|600px|thumb|center|Several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', including Kale, Brussels sprouts, Savoy, and Chinese kale]]
==Notes==
<references />
{{Commons|Brassica oleracea}}
[[Category:Brassica]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Brassica oleracea''
| image = Brassica oleracea0.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Wild Cabbage plants
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Brassicales]]
| familia = [[Brassicaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Brassica]]''
| species = '''''B. oleracea'''''
| binomial = ''Brassica oleracea''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''''Brassica oleracea''''' or '''Wild Cabbage''', is a species of ''[[Brassica]]'' native to coastal southern and western [[Europe]], where its tolerance of [[sodium chloride|salt]] and [[calcium carbonate|lime]] but intolerance of competition from other plants typically restricts its natural occurrence to [[limestone]] [[sea]] [[cliff]]s.
Wild ''B. olearacea'' is a tall [[biennial plant]], forming a stout rosette of large [[leaf|leaves]] in the first year, the leaves being fleshier and thicker than those of other species of ''Brassica'', adaptations to store water and nutrients in its difficult growing environment. In its second year, the stored nutrients are used to produce a [[flower]] spike 1–2 m tall bearing numerous yellow flowers.
===Cultivation and uses===
Although ''B. oleracea'' is believed to have been cultivated for several thousand years, its history as a domesticated plant is not clear before [[ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[ancient Rome|Roman]] times, when is known to be a well-established garden vegetable. [[Theophrastus]] mentions three kinds of this species: a curly-leaved, a smooth-leaved, and a wild-type.<ref>Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf, ''Domestication of plants in the Old World'', third edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 199.</ref> It has been bred into a wide range of [[cultivar]]s, including [[cabbage]], [[broccoli]], [[cauliflower]], and more, some of which are hardly recognisable as being members of the same species. It is one of the most important human food [[agriculture|crop]] plants. According to the [[Triangle of U]] theory, ''B. oleracea'' is very closely related to five other species of the genus ''[[Brassica]]''.
The plant is used because of its large food reserves, which are stored over the winter in its leaves. It is rich in essential nutrients including [[vitamin C]].
The cultivars of ''B. oleracea'' are grouped by developmental form into seven major [[cultivar|cultivar groups]], of which the Acephala Group remains most like the natural Wild Cabbage in appearance:
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Acephala Group]] - [[kale]] and [[collard greens]] (borekale)
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Alboglabra Group]] - [[kai-lan]] (Chinese broccoli)
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Botrytis Group]] - [[cauliflower]] (and Chou Romanesco)
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Capitata Group]] - [[cabbage]]
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Gemmifera Group]] - [[Brussels sprout]]s
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Gongylodes Group]] - [[kohlrabi]]
*''Brassica oleracea'' [[Italica Group]] - [[broccoli]]
Some (notably [[Brussels sprout]]s and [[broccoli]]) contain high levels of [[sinigrin]] which is thought to help prevent [[colorectal cancer|bowel cancer]].
For other edible plants in the family Brassicaceae, see [[cruciferous vegetables]].
[[Image:brassica-garden.jpg|600px|thumb|center|Several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', including Kale, Brussels sprouts, Savoy, and Chinese kale]]
==Notes==
<references />
{{Commons|Brassica oleracea}}
[[Category:Brassica]]
