MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS 291 
VEGETABLES CULTIVATED FOR THEIR FOLIAGE 
Cabbage (Brassica oleracea). Together with its mutants, cauli- 
flower, kale, and Brussels sprouts, etc., this useful vegetable 
holds a prominent place in our garden agriculture. Cabbage 
grows wild in the south of England and Ireland, the Channel 
Islands,1 and in Denmark. Its common name is Slavic (Kab), 
its botanical is Keltic (Bresic), and all facts go to show that its 
introduction, which is recent, proceeded from northwestern 
Europe as a center. 
Celery (Apium graveolens). According to Candolle, this plant 
grows wild in damp places over a wide area, extending from 
Sweden to Algeria, Egypt, and Abyssinia, and in Asia from the 
Caucasus to Beluchistan and the mountains of British India. It 
has been known to cultivation since early times, being mentioned 
in the ‘ Odyssey.” 
Lettuce (Lactuca scariola). This plant, like parsley, grows 
wild in southern Europe, though it has a wider range, extending 
from the Canary Islands to Mesopotamia. It was formerly, 
indeed until recently, raised in the gardens by thick seeding, 
each plant sending up a few broad and tender leaves. Latterly, 
however, this plant is being raised in a headed form like cabbage, 
with many close-clustered leaves that become well bleached and 
very tender. 
Asparagus. This genus includes something like one hundred 
and fifty species, mostly native of southern Africa and southern 
Europe. When used at all, it is largely for ornamental planting, 
but the common garden species (Asparagus officinalis) has been 
cultivated for at least two thousand years for its young and 
succulent stems. These stems are small in the wild, seldom 
1 Darwin states that in the island of Jersey the cabbage sends up a stalk to 
the height of sixteen feet. He adds that the woody stems are not infrequently 
ten to twelve feet in height, and are used for rafters. This makes it easy to 
see how the Brussels sprouts have developed, and to understand that many of 
the Crucifere are developed into trees. The cabbage itself is indeed a heavy 
shelter of broad leaves growing on a greatly shortened stem. 
