Brassica oleracea

A flowering plant species in the mustard family whose cultivated forms include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts.

Brassica: A genus of flowering plants in the mustard family, including several important food crops. B. oleracea is one species in this crop-rich genus.
Artificial selection: Heritable changes in a population produced by differential human choice of which organisms reproduce. Repeatedly choosing plants with desired traits produced the species' distinct crop forms.
Wild cabbage: A coastal wild plant, Brassica oleracea, native to parts of western and southern Europe and the Mediterranean region. Cultivated forms descend from populations of this wild plant.
Cabbage: A leafy vegetable with a compact head, usually cultivated from Brassica oleracea. It is the familiar headed form of this species.
Cole crops: A group of cultivated brassicas, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and kale. This crop grouping gathers many vegetables derived from the species.
Brassica oleracea capitata group: The cultivated group that includes headed cabbages. It shows how one crop form of the species develops a compact leafy head.
Plant domestication: The evolutionary process by which human cultivation changes plants and their relationship with people. Domestication established the conditions for the crop's long-term diversification.
Plant breeding: The deliberate development of plants with useful inherited traits. The crop's history is a long record of breeding for different edible structures.
Broccoli: A green vegetable with edible flower buds and stalks, cultivated from Brassica oleracea. Its harvested flower clusters are one of the species' best-known crop forms.
Crop diversity: The variation among cultivated plants within and across crop species. The species is a striking example of extensive visible diversity within one crop species.

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