CSTJCIFEE^. 91 



tered over central Europe. In Britain, abundant in some of the southern 

 counties of England, and appearing occasionally further north, especially- 

 near the sea. FL all summer, 



3. Isle of Man Brassica. Brassica monensis, Huds. 



(Sisymbrium, Eug. Bot. t. 962.) 



Either an annual or forming a stock of two or three years' dui-ation, 

 glabrous, or bearmg a few stiff ban's at its base. Stems sometimes barely 6 

 inches high, with the leaves mostly radical, sometimes loosely branched, 

 above a foot high, and more leaiy. Radical leaves pinnatifid or pinnate, 

 the lobes or segments short and broad, and marked by a few coarse teeth, 

 the upper leaves more deeply divided, with narrower segments. Elowers 

 rather large, pale yellow. Pods spreading, 1^ to above 2 inches long, termi- 

 nating in a thick beak, varying in length from a fifth to above a third of the 

 whole pod, and usually containing 1 to 3 seeds above the valves. 



In western Europe, and chiefly in the Pyrenees and soutli-westem Alps, 

 but extending up the west coast of France to Britain. Fl. summer. The 

 smaller and more stunted state is the most frequent in sandy places on 

 the western coasts of Great Britain as far north as Bute, but the more 

 luxuriant variety, often distinguished as a species, under the name of Sinapis 

 or Brassica Cheiranthus (Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2821), has also been found in 

 south Wales and the Channel Islands. 



4. Cabbage Brassica. Brassica oleracea, Linn. 



(Eng. Bot. t. 637.) 



In the wild state the Cabbage has a thick, almost woody stock, probably 

 of two or three years' duration, branching into erect stems 1 to 2 feet high. 

 Leaves glabrous and glaucous, the lower ones large, stalked, broad, siuuate, 

 or lobed at the base, the upper ones oblong, usually sinuate, clasping the 

 stem by their broad base, but not projecting into auricles. Elowers rather 

 large, pale yellow. Pod spreading, \\ inches or more in length. 



On maritime cliffs, indigenous round the Mediterranean, and reappearing 

 in several places on the coasts of northern France and of England and 

 Ireland, but probably originally escaped from cultivation. Fl. early summer. 

 The cultivated forms of this species include the Cabbage, Cauliflower, 

 Uroccoli, Kale, Kohlrabhi, etc., of gardeners. 



5. Field Brassica. Brassica campestris, Linn. 



(Eng. Bot. t. 2146, 2176 and 2234.) 



In its wild state this is an erect, simple, or scarcely branched annual, 1 to 

 2 feet high. Lower leaves green and slightly glaucous, more or less pin- 

 nately divided, with a large terminal lobe, and rough with stiff hairs, which 

 are sometimes very copious, and rarely entirely wanting ; upper leaves 

 narrow-oblong or lanceolate, clasping the stem with rounded projecting 

 auricles. Flowers and pods much like those of the Cabbage, but the petafi 

 are usually of a brighter yeUow. 



On borders of fields, and waste places, throughout Europe and Russian 

 Asia. A frequent weed of cultivation in Britain. Fl. spring and summer. 

 The cultivated varieties include the Turnip {B. Napus), the Rapeseed or 

 Colza (B. Rapa), and probably also the Swedish Turnip, 



