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brassica

  (brăs'ĭ-kə) pronunciation
n.

Any of various plants of the genus Brassica of the mustard family, including cabbage, broccoli, and turnip.

[New Latin Brassica, genus name, from Latin brassica, cabbage.]


 
 

Genus of vegetables that includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohl rabi, mustard, and swedes.

 

Any plant of the large genus Brassica, in the mustard family, containing about 40 Old World species and including the cabbages, mustards, and rapes. B. oleracea has many edible varieties, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and kohlrabi. Also included in this genus are the turnip (B. rapa), the rutabaga (B. napobrassica), and the Chinese cabbages (B. pekinensis and B. chinensis).

For more information on brassica, visit Britannica.com.

 

A genus of plants of the Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) family containing a large number of cultivated plants eaten by humans and food animals. Poisoning with them is rare but under particular growing conditions and if the diet consists almost entirely of the one plant some massive outbreaks of poisoning can occur.
Poisoning syndromes attributed to Brassica spp. include hemolytic anemia (kale anemia) caused by SMCO, goiter from glucosinolates, nitrate/nitrite, photosensitization, blindness (polioencephalomalacia), respiratory distress and rumen stasis.
Includes B. campestris (B. rapa), B. hirta (Sinapis alba), B. juncea (Indian or leaf mustard), B. kaber (Sinapis arvensis), B. napus var. napus (B. napus), B. sinapistrum (Sinapis arvensis).

  • B. alba — annual weed; the seed is used, together with that of B. nigra, to make commercial mustard. The seed, stubble or plant in pod can cause gastroenteritis with signs of abdominal pain, salivation and diarrhea. The toxin is a mixture of isothiocyanates called mustard oil. The enzyme myrosinase is needed to activate the oil and produce irritant effect. Oil cake containing the oil may be nontoxic because myrosinase is inactivated but can become toxic if animal has access to alternative source of the enzyme simultaneously.
  • B. napobrassica — swede turnip.
  • B. napus — rape or canola.
  • B. nigra — seeds are used in mixtures with B. alba in the manufacture of commercial mustard powder. Can cause poisoning as for B. alba (see above).
  • B. oleracea — the commercial vegetables and cultivated fodder plants. Includes B. o. var. acephala (kale, cole, chou moellier), B. o. var. botrytis (cauliflower), B. o. var. capitata (cabbage), B. o. var. gemmifera (Brussel sprouts), B. o. var. italica (broccoli, calabrese).
  • B. rapa — turnip.
  • Brassica rapa subsp. campestris — turnip rape.
 
Obscure Words: brassica


[L., cabbage]  /BRASS ikuh/
plants of the mustard family, including cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and turnip
 

Mustard family
Cruciferae

Brass'i-ka. An important genus of temperate Old World annual or biennial herbs, containing all the vegetables of the cabbage tribe, including mustard, kale, rape, and turnip. Some are pernicious weeds.

Description
They have mostly smooth, often bluish-green, water-shedding leaves. Flowers yellow or white, with 4 petals, and in terminal racemes.

How to Grow
Although Flowering Kale and Flowering Cabbage are often sold as spring bedding plants, they do best when started in late summer to mature in the fall. Sow seeds in the garden, and protect seedlings from cabbage worms and aphids. If grown in spring, start indoors 8-10 weeks before frost-free date and set out as soon as the soil can be worked. Harden off the transplants thoroughly. Plants prefer cool weather.

Brassica oleracea: Acephala Group
Flowering Kale ; Flowering Cabbage . A form with a stem topped with a cluster of leaves, not in a dense cabbagelike head. Two kinds are important in cool-weather gardens for their richly colored purple-, cream-, pink-, white-, and rose-variegated leaves. Plants are quite resistant to frost. Flowering Kale has frilly leaves and an open growth habit. It is relatively heat-resistant and can be grown through the summer. Flowering Cabbage forms lower growing, flattened plants with broad heads. Both kinds are excellent for formal borders in the fall or can be grown in pots around the patio. Nw. Europe. There are many cultivars available, including 'Dynasty Pink' with pink-variegated leaves. Biennial grown as a hardy annual.



 

The botanical name for vegetables in the cabbage family (Cruciferae, formerly Brassicaceae), including cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and, of course, cabbages.

 
Wikipedia: Brassica
Brassica
Brassica rapa
Brassica rapa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Brassica
Species

See text.

Brassica (Brás-si-ca) is a genus of plants in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus may be collectively known either as cabbages, or as mustards. Crops from this genus are sometimes called cole crops.[1]

This genus is remarkable for containing more important agricultural and horticultural crops than any other genus. It also includes a number of weeds, both wild taxa and escapees from cultivation. It includes over 30 wild species and hybrids, and numerous additional cultivars and hybrids of cultivated origin. Most are annuals or biennials, but some are small shrubs.

The genus is native in the wild in western Europe, the Mediterranean and temperate regions of Asia. In addition to the cultivated species, which are grown worldwide, many of the wild species grow as weeds, especially in North America, South America, and Australia.

Almost all parts of some species or other have been developed for food, including the root (swedes, turnips), stems (kohlrabi), leaves (cabbage, brussels sprouts), flowers (cauliflower, broccoli), and seeds (many, including mustard seed, oilseed rape. Some forms with white or purple foliage or flowerheads, are also sometimes grown for ornament.

Brassica species are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species - see List of Lepidoptera which feed on Brassicas.

Due to their agricultural importance, Brassica plants have been the subject of much scientific interest. The close relationship between 6 particularly important species (Brassica carinata, B. juncea, B. oleracea, B. napus, B. nigra and B. rapa) is described by the Triangle of U theory.

Brassica vegetables are highly regarded for their nutritional value. They provide high amounts of vitamin C and soluble fiber and contain multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties: diindolylmethane, sulforaphane and selenium.

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have recently discovered that 3,3'-Diindolylmethane in Brassica vegetables is a potent modulator of the innate immune response system with potent anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer activity.


Species

There is some disagreement among botanists on the classification and status of Brassica species and subspecies. The following is an abbreviated list, with an emphasis on economically important species.

Deprecated species names

Genome sequencing and genetics

The B. rapa genome is currently being sequenced by an international consortium. This also represents the A genome component of the amphidiploid crop species B. napus and B. juncea .[2]

See also


References

  1. ^ Cole crops. Garden Glossary. Emily Compost. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  2. ^ The www.brassica.info website for the Multinational Brassica Genome Project.
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Translations: Translations for: Brassica

Dansk (Danish)
n. - Brassica, kål

Français (French)
n. - (Bot) crucifère, brassicacée

Deutsch (German)
n. - (bot.) Kohl

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κράμβη

Italiano (Italian)
crocifere

Português (Portuguese)
n. - brássicas (f pl) (Bot.)

Русский (Russian)
разновидность капусты

Español (Spanish)
n. - planta crucífera del género brassica

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kål (bot.)

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
高丽菜

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 高麗菜

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (식물의 일종) 브레시카

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - アブラナ

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ברסיקה (כרוב או לפת)‬


 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food and Nutrition. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2005 by A. E. Bender and D. A. Bender. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Obscure Words. © 2008 by Michael A. Fischer http://home.comcast.net/~wwftd Read more
Annuals Dictionary. Taylor's Guide for Annuals, by Norman Taylor, revised and edited by Gordon P. DeWolf, Jr. Copyright © 1986 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Gardener's Dictionary. Taylor's Dictionary for Gardeners, by Frances Tenenbaum. Copyright © 1997 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Brassica" Read more
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