What is Brassica oleracea?
{{taxobox |image = Brassica oleracea0.jpg |image_caption = Wild Cabbage plants |regnum = [[Plantae]] |unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]] |unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]] |unranked_ordo = [[Rosids]] |ordo = [[Brassicales]] |familia = [[Brassicaceae]] |genus = ''[[Brassica]]'' |species = '''''B. oleracea''''' |binomial = ''Brassica oleracea'' |binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]] |}} '''''Brassica oleracea''''', or '''wild cabbage''', is a species of ''[[Brassica]]'' native to coastal southern and western [[Europe]]. Its tolerance of [[sodium chloride|salt]] and [[calcium carbonate|lime]], and its dislike of competition from other plants, restrict it to [[limestone]] [[sea]] [[cliff]]s, like the chalk cliffs on both sides of the [[English Channel]]. == Cultivation == ''B. oleracea'' is believed to have been cultivated for several thousand years. It has been bred into a wide range of [[cultivar]]s, including [[cabbage]], [[broccoli]], [[cauliflower]], and more. Some of which are hardly recognisable as being members of the same genus, let alone species.<ref name=Dixon2007>{{Citation | last1 = Dixon | first1 = G.R. | year = 2007 | title = Vegetable brassicas and related crucifers | isbn = 9780851993959 | publisher = CABI | location = Wallingford }}</ref> [[Image:Growing_Cauliflower.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Growing head of ''B. oleracea'' at Hooghly in [[West Bengal]], India.]] The plant is used because of its large food reserves, which are stored over the winter in its leaves. It is rich in essential nutrients including [[vitamin C]]. The cultivars of ''B. oleracea'' are grouped into seven major [[cultivar|cultivar groups]], of which the Acephala Group remains most like the natural wild cabbage in appearance: *Acephala Group: [[kale]] and [[collard greens]] *Alboglabra Group: [[Kai-lan|Chinese broccoli]] *Botrytis Group: [[cauliflower]], [[Romanesco broccoli]] and [[broccoflower]] *Capitata Group: [[cabbage]] *Gemmifera Group: [[brussels sprout]]s *Gongylodes Group: [[kohlrabi]] *Italica Group: [