Meet the Brassica Family! Meet Grandparent Brassica! It all started with this wild cabbage (or wild mustard) plant: Brassica Oleracea Many Botanists (scientists who study plants) and Archaeologists (people who study human history) agree that humans first found this wild plant over 2000 years ago near the Mediterranean Sea. Meet the brassica cousins! Starting with Grandparent Brassica, early farmers began selecting and breeding plants with bigger leaves, or larger buds. Through this process, these various vegetables were created. Similar to a human family, each Brassica cousin brings something different to the table! • Large leaves • A juicy stem • Rolled up leaf buds • Modified flower buds …are some of the features of the veggies in this family http://www.newtonsapple.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/wild-cabbage-and- descendants.jpg?fbclid=IwAR3WT4ZubUZ7NQPC6NIivkw6LPXj76-2SXuxqEdguCH5Yks0DaKDGOwXcgM What if Grandparent Brassica had all the modified features of the cousin brassicas? Grandparent Brassica, Brassica Oleracea ..it might look like…THIS!!! But how did all these cousins come to be? Early gardeners in Greece and Rome, grew the brassica plant in their gardens, choosing seeds from plants with bigger leaves. Over many generations, this process gave us kale and collard greens. Kale Collard Greens For kale and collards, we eat the Leaves! Kale Collard Greens Later, farmers used seed selection to develop a new relative to the wild mustard, plants with huge heads of tightly rolled leaves — cabbage. Did you know? 100 years ago, the average American ate 22 pounds of cabbage per year. Nowadays, we eat about eight pounds, most of it disguised as coleslaw or sauerkraut Elsewhere, farmers selected for enlarged flowering structures (creating broccoli and cauliflower), enlarged stems (kohlrabi), many small heads (brussels sprouts). Broccoli Cauliflower Kohlrabi Brussel Sprouts New members of the family are still being grown: in 1993, a Japanese seed company bred broccolini. https://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/8/6/5974989/kale-cauliflower-cabbage-broccoli-same-plant There’s even more members of the Brassica family! Bok Choi Arugula Rainbow Chard Radishes Turnips A yellow sauce that’s a favorite dressing, is also made from the seeds of a brassica plant. Mustard greens are known to help build healthy soil! Or for feed for livestock! Brassicas grow well in Washington! Here are a few more surprising members of the family! Brassica oleracea ssp. Brassica oleracea ssp. Brassica oleracea ssp. cabitata - palmifolia - Portuguese viridis - ornamental Kale Early flowering cabbage Tree Kale grows super often used in landscaping tall! https://serc.carleton.edu/genomics/units/brassica_photos.html See if you can find brassica plants at the store, in your kitchen, in nature, in a garden or farm field, or even on your dinner plate! • Four petalled flowers Clues to look for: in a cross shape (often yellow) • Clusters of flowers • Alternating leaves • Tiny heart- • Papery membrane dividing a shaped leaves two-chambered seed when the seed capsule first germinates From cauliflower to cabbage, and many “greens” in- between, the plant cousins in the brassica family are nutritious veggies we can eat! https://www.businessinsider.com/brassica-oleracea-broccoli-kale-brussels-sprouts-2017-5.