Brassica fruticulosa
| Brassica fruticulosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Brassicaceae |
| Genus: | Brassica |
| Species: | B. fruticulosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Brassica fruticulosa Cirillo, 1792 | |
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
- ↑ Brassica fruticulosa at Florabase - The Western Australian Flora.
- ↑ Brassica fruticulosa at www.calflora.org.
- ↑ Brassica fruticulosa www.ars-grin.gov.
- ↑ 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
- Factsheet - Brassica fruticulosa
- Brassica fruticulosa at www.efloras.org.