Cabbage

Brassica oleracea
Wild cabbage plants
Conservation status
Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Brassicales
Family:	Brassicaceae
Genus:	Brassica
Species:	B. oleracea
Binomial name
Brassica oleracea L.
Synonyms
List Brassica alboglabra L.H.Bailey Brassica arborea Steud. Brassica bullata Pasq. Brassica capitala DC. ex H.Lév. Brassica caulorapa (DC.) Pasq. Brassica cephala DC. ex H.Lév. Brassica fimbriata Steud. Brassica gemmifera H.Lév. Brassica laciniata Steud. Brassica millecapitata H.Lév. Brassica oleracea subsp. acephala (DC.) Metzg. Brassica oleracea var. capitata L. Brassica oleracea subsp. caulorapa (DC.) Metzg. Brassica oleracea var. costata DC. Brassica oleracea subsp. fruticosa Metzg. Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera DC. Brassica oleracea convar. gemmifera (DC.) Gladis ex Diederichsen Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes L. Brassica oleracea var. kashmiriana Naqshi & Javeid Brassica oleracea var. laciniata L. Brassica oleracea var. palmifolia DC. Brassica oleracea var. rubra L. Brassica oleracea var. sabauda L. Brassica oleracea var. sabellica L. Brassica oleracea var. viridis L. Brassica quercifolia DC. ex H.Lév. Brassica rubra Steud. Brassica suttoniana H.Lév. Brassica sylvestris (L.) Mill. Crucifera brassica E.H.L.Krause Napus oleracea (L.) K.F.Schimp. & Spenn. Rapa rotunda Mill. Raphanus brassica-officinalis Crantz

Brassica oleracea is a plant species that includes many common foods as cultivars, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, and gai lan.

In its uncultivated form, it is called wild cabbage, and is native to coastal southern and western Europe. A hardy plant in its uncultivated form, its high tolerance for salt and lime, and its intolerance of competition from other plants, typically restrict its natural occurrence to limestone sea cliffs, like the chalk cliffs on both sides of the English Channel, and the windswept coast on the western side of the Isle of Wight. Genetic analysis of nine wild populations on the French Atlantic coast indicated their common feral origin, deriving from domesticated plants escaped from fields and gardens.

Wild B. oleracea is a tall biennial plant that forms a stout rosette of large leaves in the first year. The leaves are fleshier and thicker than other Brassica species—an adaptation that helps it store water and nutrients in its difficult growing environment. In its second year, it uses the stored nutrients to produce a flower spike 1 to 2 metres (3–7 ft) tall with numerous yellow flowers.

Its specific epithet oleracea means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of holeraceus (oleraceus).