Brassica oleracea var. capitata

Brassica species are annual, biennial, perennial rarely undershrubs, glaucous or sparsely hirsute. Rootstock slender or tuberous. Stem erect or ascending, simple or branched. Basal radical leaves in rosulate or not, oblong to oblanceolate, pinnatifid or pinnatisect, base amplexicaul, margin dentate or entire, glabrous or pubescent, apex obtuse, petiolate or sessile, cauline leaves sagittate or auriculate, base attenuate or cuneate, margin dentate or rarely entire, apex acute, petiole subsessile or sessile. Inflorescence raceme corymbs, axillary or terminal, many flowered, elongated in fruit, ebracteate. Flowers bisexual, yellow rarely white or pink, actinomorphic, pedicel slender, sepals 4, erect, oblong or ovate, glabrous or pubescent, basal pair saccate or not, petals 4, spathulate-obovate, margin entire, apex obtuse, almost twice long as than sepals, clawed, almost equal or slightly longer than sepals. Stamens 6, tetradynamous, filaments not dilated at the base, anthers oblong-ovate, nectar glands 4, lateral and median, ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous, linear, ovules 4-48, style distinct, stigma capitate or bilobed. Fruit siliqua, dehiscent, linear oblong, erect or slightly curved, compressed, valves papery, prominent midveined, torulose or smooth, glabrous or rarely pubescent, style short or obsolete. Seeds few to many, uniseriate, rarely biseriate, not winged, globose-ovoid, minutely reticulate, mucilaginous or not when soaked, cotyledons conduplicate.

Flowering class: Dicot Habit: Herb Distribution notes: Exotic

Flowering and fruiting: Throughout the year

Brassica species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects, or cleistogamy i.e., by self or allogamy i.e., by cross pollination. Flowering/Fruiting: March--August.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, anemochory i.e., wind dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Erect or decumbent biennial or perennial herbs, about 20-80 cm tall. Rootstock thick, tuberous. Stem short until flowering, usually simple at the base or sparsely branched in the upper half. Basal leaves, very densely packed with overlapped clustered leaves into a compact subglobose or ellipsoid head with very stout nerves, broadly ovate to broadly obovate-oblanceolate in outline, about 10-40 x 3-25 cm across, base cuneate, margin shallow dentate or crenate, apex obtuse, thick, fleshy, glabrous, later the head splits open with a stalk, petiole sessile, middle cauline leaves oblong-ovate, petiole sessile, upper cauline leaves linear-lanceolate or narrow oblong-oblanceolate, about 4-10 x 1.5-4 cm across, base subamplexicaul or rounded cordate, margin entire or rarely shallow dentate, petiole sessile. Inflorescence racemes or panicled not condensed into a fleshy head, axillary or terminal, ebracteate. Flowers bisexual, bright yellow or rarely white, actinomorphic, pedicels erect, ascending or divaricate, about 1.5-2 cm long, about 2.5 cm in fruit, sepals 4, oblong, about 0.7-1.5 x 2-3 mm across, petals 4, spathulate-obovate, base attenuate or caudate, margin entire, apex obtuse or shallow emarginate, about 1.5-3 x 0.5-1 cm across, claw about 0.6-1.5 cm. Stamens 6, tetradynamous, filaments about 8-12 mm long, anthers oblong-ovate, about 3-4 mm long, ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous, linear, ovules many, style distinct. Fruit siliqua, dehiscent, linear oblong, usually erect, compressed, valves papery, prominent midveined, about 3-10 cm long, torulose or smooth, glabrous or rarely pubescent, style obsolete, terminal segment conical, 0-2 seeded. Seeds 10-20, not winged, dark brown or blackish, globose-ovoid, about 1.5-2.5 mm across, reticulate, cotyledons conduplicate.

Brassica species are susceptible to insect pests, virus, mildews and rusts.

Notes: Western Ghats, Cultivated, Native of Eurasia

Tropical to temperate regions, widely cultivated.

Cultivated

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Widely cultivated and used as a vegetable. Raw fresh leaf juice is used to treat piles.