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Brassica oleracea

Common name:	Wild Cabbage	Family:	Cruciferae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:	Brassica sylvestris ((L.)Mill.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Coastal regions of the Mediterranean and W. Europe north to France and Britain.
Habitat:	A rare plant of sea cliffs[5].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	B. oleracea var. acephala[B] B. oleracea var. capitata[B]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Berza [E], Broccoflower [H], Broccoli [H], Cabbage [H,E,P,B], Cauliflower [H], Chou [E], Col [E], Kan Lan [E], Kool [D], Lan Ts'Ai [E], Repollo [E], Weisskohl [E], Wild Cabbage [H,L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	oleracea = vegetable like;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Capparales. Renamed to Brassicaceae -- Mustard family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Australia; Chile; China; Dominican Republic; France; Germany; Haiti; India; Mexico; Spain; Us

Physical Characteristics

Biennial/Perennial growing to 1.2m. It is hardy to zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - raw or cooked[5]. Slightly bitter raw, they can be cooked in one or more changes of water[183]. We find that the slight bitterness actually enhances the flavour, and this is one of our favourite cooked leaves. The plant can usually be harvested all year round, though there will be little to pick in very cold winters[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anthelmintic; Cardiotonic; Diuretic; Laxative; Stomachic.

The leaves are cardiotonic and stomachic[240]. They have been used in the treatment of gout and rheumatism[240]. The leaves can be used as a poultice to cleanse infected wounds - the mid-rib is removed and the leaf ironed then placed on the affected area whilst still hot[254]. The poultice should not be left on too long or it an cause blisters[254].
The seeds are anthelmintic, diuretic, laxative and stomachic[240].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in full sun in any reasonable soil, though it prefers a well-drained fertile preferably alkaline soil[200]. It does well in heavy clay soils. It is often found wild by the coast and tolerates considerable maritime exposure.
The true wild cabbage is a short-lived perennial, though we have seen specimens 5 years old or more[K]. This species has long been cultivated for its edible leaves, stems etc and a wide diversity of forms have been developed, including cabbages, cauliflowers, broccolis and Brussels sprouts[5]. Most of these forms are biennial in cultivation, though there are also some perennial forms. These different forms are detailed below and have each been given their own entry in the database. We have chosen the most up to date classification we can find, as treated in 'World Economic Plants'.
B. oleracea alboglabra. Chinese kales are fast-growing plants with tender edible leaves. Although perennials[200], they are usually grown as annuals and are eaten as a summer and autumn crop whilst still young.
B. oleracea botrytis. Cauliflowers are grown mainly for their edible swollen inflorescence. Different cultivars can be used to provide crops all year round.
B. oleracea botrytis aparagoides. A short-lived perennial form of cauliflower producing a small cauliflower head in the spring followed by a number of broccoli-like flowering shoots.
B. oleracea capitata. These are the cultivated cabbages, grown for their edible leaves that usually form a compact head. Reasonably winter hardy, different cultivars can be used to provide edible plants all year round.
B. oleracea costata. Couve tronchuda is a tall-growing form of cabbage. It is less hardy than most other forms of this genus.
B. oleracea gemmifera. Brussels sprouts form large edible axillary buds 5cm or more long. They are mainly used as late autumn to spring crops.
B. oleracea gongylodes. Kohl rabi produces an edible swollen stem 8cm or more in diameter. It is reasonably cold hardy and provides crops from mid summer to the winter.
B. oleracea italica. The calabreses and sprouting broccolis, grown mainly for their edible flowering shoots. Calabrese is the less hardy and is used mainly as an autumn and early winter crop. The sprouting broccolis are very winter hardy and are grown outdoors through the winter to provide a spring to early summer crop.
B. oleracea medullosa. Marrowstem kales have edible leaves and stems.
B. oleracea palmifolia. The Jersey kale produces a very tall stem which has been used as a walking stick.
B. oleracea ramosa. The thousand-headed and perennial kales are very cold hardy. Their flavour is stronger than most of the other cultivated forms and they are mainly used as a winter crop. This form is very close to the wild species and has the most potential for developing perennial cultivars.
B. oleracea subauda. The savoy cabbages form large heads like the cultivated cabbages (B. oleracea capitata). They have a stronger flavour, crinkly leaves and are generally more cold-hardy so can provide a winter crop in areas with quite severe winters.
B. oleracea sabellica. The curly kales have attractively curled leaves. These are quite cold-tolerant plants and are mainly used to provide edible leaves in winter and spring.
B. oleracea viridis. Collards are a cold-hardy non-heading form of cabbage, used mainly to provide green leaves in the spring.

Propagation

Seed - sow April in situ. Seedlings transplant very well and so, if you sow the seed too thickly, it is a simple matter to move some of the plants to give them more space.
Cuttings root very easily at almost any time in the growing season[K]. Use shoots about 8cm long of the current year's growth and place them in individual pots in the cuttings frame[K].

Cultivars

'Tree Collards': This is a perennial form of cabbage that is said to live for 20 years or more. The leaves are a very dark green and look somewhat like the leaves of savoy cabbages, though the plant does not form a heart. The flavour is very good and the leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. The plant can be harvested all year round. The shoot tips are removed when about 15 - 20cm long, making sure that there is plenty of stem left. The plant then forms new sideshoots along the stem and these can also be harvested in their turn.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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