Brassica fruticulosa

Brassica fruticulosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Clade:Rosids
Order:Brassicales
Family:Brassicaceae
Genus:Brassica
Species: B. fruticulosa
Binomial name
Brassica fruticulosa
Cirillo, 1792

Brassica fruticulosa, the Mediterranean cabbage or twiggy turnip, is a member of the agriculturally significant genus Brassica. It was described by Domenico Maria Leone Cirillo in 1792.

Description

Brassica fruticulosa has a similar odour to cabbage and broccoli, 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 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 and North Africa. It has been introduced to Australia[1] and North America (including California, U.S.A.[2]), 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[3]

Brassica fruticulosa has been synthetically cross-bred with Brassica rapa.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Brassica fruticulosa at Florabase - The Western Australian Flora.
  2. ↑ Brassica fruticulosa at www.calflora.org.
  3. ↑ "Brassica fruticulosa". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  4. ↑ Production of an interspecific hybrid between Brassica fruticulosa and B. rapa A. Chandra, M. L. Gupta, S. S. Banga, and S. K. Banga, 2004.
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