MTTSTAED FAMILT. 



45 



^Racemes paniculate. 



Sub-species Aceph'ala. Stem eloDgated ; leaves expanded, not form- 

 ing a head. 



Tree Cabbage. Bore- Cole. Headless Cabbage. 

 Sub-species, Bulla'ta. Stem somewhat elongated ; young leaves sub- 

 capitate, finally expanding, bullate or crisped. 

 Savoy Cabbage. Curled Cabbage. 



Sub-species Capita'ta. Stem short ; leaves concave, not bullate, 

 densely imbricated in a head before flowering. 

 Head Cabbage. Tork Cabbage. 



Sub-species Caulo Ea'pa. Stem with an oval or subglobose fleshy 

 enlargement at the origin of the leaves. 

 Bulb-stalked Cabbage. Kohl Eabi. 



"^'^Racemes corymbose. 



Sub-species Botry'tis. Leaves oblong, connivent, peduncles short, 

 fleshy and coalesced in a head before flowering ; flowers often abortive. 

 Var. a. Cauliflo'ea. Stem short ; heads thick, compact. 

 Cauliflower. 



Var. b. Asparagoi'des. Stem taller ; leaves elongated ; heads some- 

 what branched ; branches fleshy at apex, bearing clusters of abortive 

 flower buds. 

 Broccoli. 



Biennial. Stem 6 inches to 1 - 2 feet high, branching the second year from the summit, 

 or head of imbricated leaves. Leaves large (6-12 or 18 inches in length) , suborbicular or 

 oblong. Racemes long, loose. Petals greenish or citron yellow. 



Gardens and lots : cultivated. Fl. May -June. Fr. July. 



Obs. The forms above enumerated, although known by distinct 

 popular names and in their cultivated state widely different in appear- 

 ance, are all belie red to be varieties of Brassica oleracea, L., a native 

 of the British Isles and the shores of northern Europe. They strikingly 

 illustrate the changes which are produced in species by cultivation and 

 the permanence of some varieties and races. They also give us instruct- 

 ive lessons in the economy of vegetable life. In the several kinds known 

 as cabbage (a name derived from the Latin caput, a head, through the 

 French Cabus), the first year is passed in producing foliage and in 

 accumulating in the thick leaves and stem a supply of nutriment for the 

 growth of the plant the following year. If it is allowed to make its 

 second year's growth, branches are thrown up which develop Avith great 

 rapidity, and produce an abundance of flowers and fruit. This growth 

 takes place mainly at the expense of the material contained in the 

 leaves and stem, and we find that the large leaves are soon exhausted of 

 their nourishment and decay, and that the stem, which was before solid and 



