''Brassica fruticulosa'', the Mediterranean cabbage or twiggy turnip, is a member of the agriculturally significant genus ''

Brassica ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole cr ...

''. It was described by

Domenico Maria Leone Cirillo Domenico Maria Leone Cirillo FRS (Grumo Nevano, Kingdom of Naples 10 April 1739Naples 29 October 1799) was an Italian physician, entomologist, botanist and patriot. Professional life Appointed while still young to a botanical professorship, ...

in 1792.

Description

''Brassica fruticulosa'' has a similar odour to

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

and

broccoli Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Broccoli is cl ...

, when crushed. The plant's stem is smooth and erect, varies from grey to green in colour, and can reach a height of 50 centimetres. The upper and lower leaves are stemmed, with the lower leaves being

lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...

-shaped, lobed near the base, and bristly in parts. The lower leaves measure up to 15 centimetres. The plant produces 10 millimetre-long, pale yellow flowers with four petals each, on short stalks, with many branches forming at the end of a stem. It also bears a

pea pod The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

-shaped

siliqua The siliqua (plural ''siliquae'') is the modern name given (without any ancient evidence to confirm the designation) to small, thin, Roman silver coins produced in the 4th century A.D. and later. When the coins were in circulation, the Latin wo ...

which has a lumpy appearance and measures 2-4 centimetres in length. The seeds, when mature, are brown and spherical in appearance.

Distribution

''Brassica fruticulosa'' is a wild cabbage which originated in southern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. It has been introduced to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

(including

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

U.S.A. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

), where it has subsequently become naturalized in the wild.

Subspecies and hybrids

* ''Brassica fruticulosa fruticulosa'' * ''Brassica fruticulosa glaberrima'' * ''Brassica fruticulosa mauritanica'' * ''Brassica fruticulosa numidica'' * ''Brassica fruticulosa pomeliana'' * ''Brassica fruticulosa radicata'' ''Brassica fruticulosa'' has been synthetically

cross-bred A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

with ''

Brassica rapa ''Brassica rapa'' is a plant species growing in various widely cultivated forms including the turnip (a root vegetable); napa cabbage, bomdong, bok choy, and rapini. ''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''oleifera'' is an oilseed which has many common n ...

''.Production of an interspecific hybrid between ''Brassica fruticulosa'' and ''B. rapa''
A. Chandra, M. L. Gupta, S. S. Banga, and S. K. Banga, 2004.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3643884 fruticulosa Plants described in 1972 Flora of Europe Flora of Africa Flora of Australia