Brassica oleracea gongylodes L.

Herb

Brassica species are annual, biennial, perennial rarely undershrubs, glaucous or sparsely hirsute. Rootstock slender or tuberous. Stem erect or ascending, simple or branched. Basal radical leaves in rosulate or not, oblong to oblanceolate, pinnatifid or pinnatisect, base amplexicaul, margin dentate or entire, glabrous or pubescent, apex obtuse, petiolate or sessile, cauline leaves sagittate or auriculate, base attenuate or cuneate, margin dentate or rarely entire, apex acute, petiole subsessile or sessile. Inflorescence raceme corymbs, axillary or terminal, many flowered, elongated in fruit, ebracteate. Flowers bisexual, yellow rarely white or pink, actinomorphic, pedicel slender, sepals 4, erect, oblong or ovate, glabrous or pubescent, basal pair saccate or not, petals 4, spathulate-obovate, margin entire, apex obtuse, almost twice long as than sepals, clawed, almost equal or slightly longer than sepals. Stamens 6, tetradynamous, filaments not dilated at the base, anthers oblong-ovate, nectar glands 4, lateral and median, ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous, linear, ovules 4-48, style distinct, stigma capitate or bilobed. Fruit siliqua, dehiscent, linear oblong, erect or slightly curved, compressed, valves papery, prominent midveined, torulose or smooth, glabrous or rarely pubescent, style short or obsolete. Seeds few to many, uniseriate, rarely biseriate, not winged, globose-ovoid, minutely reticulate, mucilaginous or not when soaked, cotyledons conduplicate.

Brassica species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects, or cleistogamy i.e., by self or allogamy i.e., by cross pollination. Flowering/Fruiting: March--August.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, anemochory i.e., wind dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Biennial herbs, about 20-100 cm tall. Rootstock thick, taperoot. Stem short, fleshy globose or subglobose. Basal cauline leaves, broadly ovate to broadly obovate-oblanceolate in outline, not overlapping on globose stem, about 10-45 x 3-25 cm across, base cuneate, margin shallow dentate or crenate, apex obtuse, thick, fleshy, glabrous, lateral lobes 2-6, smaller near the base, bigger towards the apex, terminal lobe the largest, petiole broader near the base, about 3-8 cm long, middle and upper leaves also on the globose fleshy stem, lanceolate or oblong-oblanceolate, about 6-25 x 2-8 cm across, base subamplexicaul or rounded cordate, margin entire or rarely shallow dentate, petiolate. Inflorescence racemes or panicled, not condensed into a fleshy head, ebracteate. Flowers bisexual, bright yellow or rarely white, actinomorphic, pedicels erect, ascending or divaricate, about 1.5-2 cm long, about 2.5 cm in fruit, sepals 4, oblong, about 0.7-1.5 x 2-3 mm across, petals 4, spathulate-obovate, base attenuate or caudate, margin entire, apex obtuse or shallow emarginate, about 1.5-3 x 0.5-1 cm across, claw about 0.6-1.5 cm. Stamens 6, tetradynamous, filaments about 8-12 mm long, anthers oblong-ovate, about 3-4 mm long, ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous, linear, ovules many, style distinct. Fruit siliqua, dehiscent, linear oblong, usually erect, compressed, valves papery, prominent midveined, about 3-10 cm long, torulose or smooth, glabrous or rarely pubescent, style obsolete, terminal segment conical, 0-2 seeded. Seeds 10-20, not winged, dark brown or blackish, globose-ovoid, about 1.5-2.5 mm across, reticulate, cotyledons conduplicate.

Brassica species are susceptible to insect pests, virus, mildews and rusts.

Notes: Western Ghats, Cultivated, Native of Eurasia

Cultivated

Tropical to temperate regions, widely cultivated.

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Widely cultivated and used as a vegetable. Used in traditional folk medicine.