OregonFlora: Brassica oleracea

	Brassica oleracea
	cabbage
Habit	Plants biennial or perennial, glabrous, glaucous.
Stems	(3)6–15(3) dm.
Basal leaves	and lowermost cauline to 40 × 15 cm; margins entire, dentate, or pinnately lobed; terminal lobes larger than 1–13 lateral lobes on each side, petiolate.
Inflorescences	fruiting pedicels ascending to divaricate; (8)14–25(40) mm.
Flowers	sepals oblong, 8–15 mm; erect; petals ovate to elliptic; (15)18–25(30) × (6)8–12 mm, yellow or white; claws 7–15 mm; filaments 8–12 mm; erect at base; styles obsolete.
Fruits	divaricate to ascending; terete; (2.5)4–8(10) cm × (2.5)3–4(5) mm, valvular segments (2)3–7.5(9) cm, 10–20-seeded per locule; valves with prominent midveins; terminal segment conical; (3)4–10 mm; seedless or 1(2)-seeded.
Seeds	1.5–2.5 mm in diameter.
Upper cauline leaves	oblanceolate; ovate; to oblong; to 10 × 4 cm, bases amplexicaul, auriculate, or not, sessile.
2n	=18.

	Brassica oleracea
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Gardens, abandoned fields, waste places, coastal bluffs. Flowering May–Aug. 0–300 m. Est, WV. CA, WA; eastern North America; Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe. Exotic. Brassica oleracea has been cultivated since ancient times, and many common vegetables have been cultivated from this species, including broccoli (var. italica), Brussels sprouts (var. gemmifera), cabbage (var. capitata), cauliflower (var. botrytis), collard greens (var. viridis), kale (var. sabellica), and kohlrabi (var. gongylodes).
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 459 Ihsan Al-Shehbaz
Sibling taxa	B. elongata, B. juncea, B. napus, B. nigra, B. rapa
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Brassica oleracea

cabbage

Habit

Plants biennial or perennial, glabrous, glaucous.

Stems

(3)6–15(3) dm.

Basal leaves

and lowermost cauline to 40 × 15 cm;

margins entire, dentate, or pinnately lobed; terminal lobes larger than 1–13 lateral lobes on each side, petiolate.

Inflorescences

fruiting pedicels ascending to divaricate; (8)14–25(40) mm.

Flowers

sepals oblong, 8–15 mm; erect;

petals ovate to elliptic; (15)18–25(30) × (6)8–12 mm, yellow or white;

claws 7–15 mm;

filaments 8–12 mm; erect at base;

styles obsolete.

Fruits

divaricate to ascending; terete; (2.5)4–8(10) cm × (2.5)3–4(5) mm, valvular segments (2)3–7.5(9) cm, 10–20-seeded per locule;

valves with prominent midveins; terminal segment conical; (3)4–10 mm; seedless or 1(2)-seeded.

Seeds

1.5–2.5 mm in diameter.

Upper cauline leaves

oblanceolate; ovate; to oblong; to 10 × 4 cm, bases amplexicaul, auriculate, or not, sessile.

=18.

Brassica oleracea

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Gardens, abandoned fields, waste places, coastal bluffs. Flowering May–Aug. 0–300 m. Est, WV. CA, WA; eastern North America; Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe. Exotic.

Brassica oleracea has been cultivated since ancient times, and many common vegetables have been cultivated from this species, including broccoli (var. italica), Brussels sprouts (var. gemmifera), cabbage (var. capitata), cauliflower (var. botrytis), collard greens (var. viridis), kale (var. sabellica), and kohlrabi (var. gongylodes).

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 459
Ihsan Al-Shehbaz

Sibling taxa

B. elongata, B. juncea, B. napus, B. nigra, B. rapa

Web links