Brassica fruticulosa

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Brassica fruticulosa
File:Cavuliceddu - Brassica fruticulosa plant 2.JPG
Scientific classification
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B. fruticulosa
Binomial name
Brassica fruticulosa
Cirillo, 1792

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

Description

B. 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

B. 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 www.ars-grin.gov.
  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.

External links