The Jersey cabbage (''Brassica oleracea longata'') is a variety of

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 ...

native to the Channel Islands that grows to a great height and was formerly commonly used there as livestock

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...

and for making walking sticks. It is also known as Jersey kale or cow cabbage, and by a variety of local names including giant cabbage, long jacks, tree cabbage and the French ''chour'' and ''chou à vacque''. The 'Jersey cabbage' develops a long stalk, commonly reaching in height, and can grow as tall as . Historically the stalks were made into walking sticks, of which 30,000 a year were being sold by the early 20th century, many for export.; republishe
Plant Portraits
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (pdf) They were also used for fencing and as rafters. Much of the stalk is bare; the islanders stripped leaves to accentuate this effect and induce it to grow without twisting, varnished the stalk, and created a handle either by heat-treating and bending the root end or by planting at an angle to produce a naturally bent root. The lower leaves were fed to livestock (one variety in Portugal was grown specifically for the purpose), and were reportedly of great value: ''The Farmer's Magazine'' stated in 1836 that five plants would support 100 sheep or 10 cows, and sheep fed them were rumoured to produce silky wool up to in length. The open cabbage at the top is comparatively small: "the size of the cabbages at the top was so infinitesimal that one seemed forced to the conviction that nature meant them to be stalks, not cabbages". The plant is now rarely grown in the Channel Islands, except for feeding rabbits although it is still cultivated for walking sticks by Philip and Jacquelyn Johnson, who were shown on the BBC One series '' Countryfile'' in January 2010.

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Further reading