''Brassica cretica'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The le ...

, native to the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and the Aegean Islands. It was first described by

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biologi ...

in 1785. A 2021 study suggested that it was the origin of cultivated ''

Brassica oleracea ''Brassica oleracea'' is a plant species from family Brassicaceae that includes many common cultivars used as vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, and gai lan. Its ...

'', with later admixture from other ''Brassica'' species.

Subspecies

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

recognized three subspecies: *''Brassica cretica'' subsp. ''aegaea'' (Heldr. & Halácsy) Snogerup, M.A.Gust. & Bothmer *''Brassica cretica'' subsp. ''cretica'' *''Brassica cretica'' subsp. ''laconica'' M.A.Gust. & Snogerup Other sources have recognized only two subspecies, subsp. ''cretica'' and subsp. ''nivea'' . Some populations identified as ''B. cretica'' appear to be escapes from cultivation.

References

cretica Flora of Albania Flora of the East Aegean Islands Flora of Greece Flora of Crete Flora of Lebanon and Syria Flora of Palestine (region) Flora of Turkey Plants described in 1785 {{Brassicales-stub