130 ENGLISH BOTANY. 
SPECIES V—BRASSICA OLERACEA. Zinn. 
Puate LXXXVII.* 
Reich, Ic. Fl. Germ. et Helv. Vol. IT. Tetr. Tab. XCVIT. Fig. 4438. 
Radical leaves stalked, broadly-oval or obovate, with waved or 
sinuated margins, occasionally sub-lyrate ; uppermost stem leaves 
oblong, entire, not dilated at the base, sessile or semi-amplexicaul ; 
all glaucous and glabrous. Inflorescence lengthened into a lax 
raceme at the time the flowers expand. Sepals closed upon the 
claws of the petals. Beak of the pod shortly conical, not containing 
a seed; valves 1-nerved, with anastomosing veins. 
Locally abundant and apparently indigenous on cliffs “and the 
débris at their base in the South and West of England, particularly 
on the Kentish coast from Folkestone to Kingsdown. On the west 
coast it may be wild as far north as Tenby in Pembrokeshire, or 
even Carnarvonshire. It also occurs in many other places both in 
England and Scotland, but probably only where it has escaped 
from cultivation. 
England [Scotland,| Ireland. Biennial or Perennial. Summer. 
Stems tortuous, very thick and woody in old specimens, much 
branched; the flowering shoots ascending. Lower leaves often 
very large, the sinuations deepest towards the base; occasionally 
there are a few lobes on the lower part of the petiole separated 
from the main lamina of the leaf, so that it becomes imperfectly 
lyrate, but never regularly so as in the next species. Flowers 
nearly an inch across, pale lemon yellow, the full distance between 
the pedicels being reached by the time the flowers fade. Pods 
about 3 inches long, slightly compressed; the beak little more than 
<4 inch. Plant dark bluish green with a glaucous bloom, the leaves 
slightly succulent. 
Sea Colewort or Cabbage, Wild Cabbage. 
French, Chow Potager. German, Der Kohl. 
In its wild state the Cabbage forms a very wholesome vegetable, and no doubt was 
extensively eaten long before any attempt was made to cultivate it. All the varieties 
of Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Red Cabbage, and the like, so well known to 
the gardener, are descendants of the Wild Cabbage. 
There is no plant of greater interest to the vegetable physiologist than the present 
form of Brassica, on account of the multitudinous forms which it has assumed under 
cultivation. Two plants belonging to the same class can hardly differ more than the 
flowerless, thick-leaved, swollen Red Cabbage of the gardens, and the tender green herb 
* The Plate is E. B. 637, with a pod added from a Kentish specimen by Mr. J. E. 
Sowerby. 
