Brassica fruticulosa

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

Description

Brassica 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

Brassica 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". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  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.
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