Brassica

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Distinguish Template:Use dmy dates Template:Automatic taxobox Brassica (Template:IPAc-en) is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, mustard plants, or simply brassicas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Crops from this genus are sometimes called cole cropsTemplate:Mdashderived from the Latin caulis, denoting the stem or stalk of a plant.<ref name="Wordnik – caulis" />

The genus Brassica is known for its important agricultural and horticultural crops and also includes a number of weeds, both of wild taxa and escapees from cultivation. Brassica species and varieties commonly used for food include bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, choy sum, kohlrabi, napa cabbage, rutabaga, turnip and some seeds used in the production of canola oil and the condiment mustard. Over 30 wild species and hybrids are in cultivation, plus numerous cultivars and hybrids of cultivated origin. Most are seasonal plants (annuals or biennials), but some are small shrubs. Brassica plants have been the subject of much scientific interest for their agricultural importance. Six particular species (B. carinata, B. juncea, B. oleracea, B. napus, B. nigra, and B. rapa) evolved by the combining of chromosomes from three earlier species, as described by the triangle of U theory.

The genus is native to Western Europe, the Mediterranean and temperate regions of Asia. Many wild species grow as weeds, especially in North America, South America, and Australia.

A dislike for cabbage or broccoli may result from the fact that these plants contain a compound similar to phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), which is either bitter or tasteless to people depending on their taste buds.<ref name="Overfield1995" />

Uses

Food

The flowers, seeds, stalks, and tender leaves of many species of Brassica can be eaten raw or cooked.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Almost all parts of some species have been developed for food, including the root (swede, turnip), stems (kohlrabi), leaves (cabbage, collard greens, kale), flowers (cauliflower, broccoli, romanesco broccoli), buds (Brussels sprouts, cabbage), and seeds (many, including mustard seed, and oil-producing rapeseed). Some forms with white or purple foliage or flowerheads are also sometimes grown for ornament.

Brassica species are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species.

Cooking

Boiling substantially reduces the levels of broccoli glucosinolates, while other cooking methods, such as steaming, microwaving, and stir frying, have no significant effect on glucosinolate levels.<ref name="Nugrahedi">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Species

The following species are accepted:<ref name="POWO_30043511-2" /> Template:Div col

• Brassica assyriaca Template:Small
• Brassica aucheri Template:Small
• Brassica baldensis Template:Small
• Brassica balearica Template:Small – Mallorca cabbage
• Brassica barrelieri Template:Small
• Brassica beytepeensis Template:Small
• Brassica bourgeaui Template:Small
• Brassica cadmea Template:Small
• Brassica carinata Template:Small – Abyssinian mustard or Abyssinian cabbage, used to produce biodiesel
• Brassica cretica Template:Small
• Brassica deflexa Template:Small
• Brassica deserti Template:Small
• Brassica desnottesii Template:Small
• Brassica dimorpha Template:Small
• Brassica elongata Template:Small – elongated mustard
• Brassica fruticulosa Template:Small – Mediterranean cabbage
• Brassica gravinae Template:Small
• Brassica hilarionis Template:Small – St. Hilarion cabbage
• Brassica incana Template:Small
• Brassica insularis Template:Small
• Brassica juncea Template:Small – Indian mustard, brown and leaf mustards, Sarepta mustard
• Brassica loncholoma Template:Small
• Brassica macrocarpa Template:Small
• Brassica maurorum Template:Small
• Brassica montana Template:Small
• Brassica napus Template:Small – rapeseed, rutabaga, Siberian kale
• Brassica nivalis Template:Small
• Brassica oleracea Template:Small – kale, cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, kai-lan, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi
• Brassica oxyrrhina Template:Small
• Brassica procumbens Template:Small
• Brassica rapa Template:Small – Chinese cabbage, turnip, rapini
• Brassica repanda Template:Small
• Brassica rupestris Template:Small
• Brassica setulosa Template:Small
• Brassica somalensis Template:Small
• Brassica souliei Template:Small
• Brassica spinescens Template:Small
• Brassica taiwanensis Template:Small
• Brassica taurica Template:Small
• Brassica trichocarpa Template:Small
• Brassica tyrrhena Template:Small
• Brassica villosa Template:Small

Species formerly placed in Brassica

• B. alba or B. hirta (white or yellow mustard)—see Sinapis alba
• B. geniculata (hoary mustard)—see Hirschfeldia incana
• B. kaber (wild mustard or charlock)—see Rhamphospermum arvense
• B. nigra —see Rhamphospermum nigrum

Genome sequencing and genetics

Bayer CropScience (in collaboration with BGI-Shenzhen, China; KeyGene; the Netherlands and the University of Queensland, Australia) announced it had sequenced the entire genome of rapeseed (canola, Brassica napus) and its constituent genomes present in B. rapa and B. oleracea in 2009.<ref name="Bayer Sequence Genome of Canola" /> The B. rapa genome was sequenced by the Multinational Brassica Genome Project in 2011.<ref name="Wang et al 2011" /> This also represents the A genome component of the amphidiploid crop species B. napus and B. juncea.

Etymology

'Brassica' was Pliny the Elder's name for several cabbage-like plants.<ref name="gledhill">Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. Template:ISBN (hardback), Template:ISBN (paperback). pp 76</ref>

External links

• Template:Commons category-inline