Brassica fruticulosa
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''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 c ...
''. It was described by Domenico Maria Leone Cirillo in 1792.


Description

''Brassica fruticulosa'' has a similar odour to cabbage 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 cla ...
, 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-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-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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
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 and North America (including
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
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 territori ...
), 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 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