Brassica oleracea, or
Wild Mustard, is a species of
Brassica native to coastal southern and western
Europe, where its tolerance of
salt and
lime and its intolerance of competition from other plants typically restrict its natural occurrence to
limestone sea cliffs.
Wild B. olearacea is a tall biennial plant, forming a stout rosette of large leaves in the first year, the leaves being fleshier and thicker than those of other species of Brassica, adaptations to store water and nutrients in its difficult growing environment. In its second year, the stored nutrients are used to produce a flower spike 1 to 2 metres (3–7&_160;ft) tall bearing numerous yellow flowers.
Although B. oleracea is believed to have been cultivated for several thousand years, its history as a domesticated plant is not clear before Greek and Roman times, when it is known to have been a well-established garden vegetable. Theophrastus mentions three kinds of this species a curly-leaved, a smooth-leaved, and a wild-type.[1] It has been bred into a wide range of cultivars, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and more, some of which are hardly recognisable as being members of the same genus, let alone species. The historical genus of crucifera, meaning four-petalled flower, may be the only uniting feature beyond taste. It has become established as an important human food crop plant. According to the Triangle of U theory, B. oleracea is very closely related to five other species of the genus Brassica.[2]
The plant is used because of its large food reserves, which are stored over the winter in its leaves. It is rich in essential nutrients including vitamin C.
