Flora of North America species comparison

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Brassica oleracea

broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cultivated cabbage, kale, wild cabbage
Habit Biennials or perennials; (with slender taproot or woody caudex, becoming suffrutescent and covered with conspicuous leaf scars); (glaucous), glabrous.
Stems

branched distally, 5–10 dm.
Basal leaves

petiole to 30 cm;

blade oblong or obovate, to 45 cm × 150 mm, (fleshy), blades pinnatifid or margins dentate.
Cauline leaves

(distal) sessile;

blade (oblong to lanceolate), base auriculate and amplexicaul, (margins entire).
Racemes

not paniculately branched.
Flowers

sepals 8–15 × 1.5–2.7 mm;

petals yellow, white, or lemon yellow, ovate or elliptic, (15–)18–25(–30) × (6–)8–12 mm, claw 7–15 mm, apex rounded;

filaments 8–12 mm;

anthers 2.5–4 mm.
Fruiting pedicels

spreading to ascending, (8–)14–25(–40) mm.
Fruits

spreading to ascending, smooth, ± 4-angled or subterete, (2.5–)5–8(–10) cm × (2.5–)3–4(–5) mm;

valvular segment with 10–20 seeds per locule, (2–)3–7.5(–9) cm, terminal segment usually seedless, rarely 1 or 2-seeded, (conic), (3–)4–10 mm.
Seeds

brown, 1.7–2.5 mm diam.;

seed coat reticulate, not mucilaginous when wetted.
2n

= 18.

Brassica oleracea
Phenology Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Maritime slopes or sea-facing cliffs, weedy escape, gardens, abandoned fields, waste places
Elevation 0-100 m (0-300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CT; IA; IL; KY; MA; NY; OH; PA; RI; TX; VT; NL; ON; PE; QC; Europe; Asia; Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Brassica oleracea is widely cultivated worldwide as a vegetable crop, and its various forms are generally recognized as varieties instead of subspecies; these include var. acephala de Candolle (kale and collards), var. botrytis Linnaeus (cauliflower), var. capitata Linnaeus (cabbage), var. gemmifera Zenk (Brussels sprouts), var. gongylodes Linnaeus (kohlrabi), and var. italica Plenk (broccoli). It also occurs sporadically as a weedy escape from cultivation and seems unlikely to persist for long periods of time. It is reported to be naturalized on coastal cliffs (maritime slopes) in the northern Central Coastal Region and the central and southern North Coastal Region in California (Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties) (J. T. Howell et al. 1958; Howell 1970; H. G. Baker 1972; R. C. Rollins 1993b).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 423.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Brassiceae > Brassica
Sibling taxa
B. elongata, B. fruticulosa, B. juncea, B. napus, B. nigra, B. rapa, B. tournefortii
Synonyms B. alboglabra
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 667. (1753)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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