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.
| Brassica fruticulosa | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Brassicaceae |
| Genus: | Brassica |
| Species: | B. fruticulosa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Brassica fruticulosa Cirillo, 1792
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Description
editBrassica 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
editBrassica 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
edit- 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
edit- ^ Brassica fruticulosa at Florabase - The Western Australian Flora.
- ^ Brassica fruticulosa at www.calflora.org.
- ^ "Brassica fruticulosa". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ Production of an interspecific hybrid between Brassica fruticulosa and B. rapa A. Chandra, M. L. Gupta, S. S. Banga, and S. K. Banga, 2004.