Fractal Broccoli
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2016 4:52 pm
In the following chart of the best ANDI foods,

the top 17 best foods are all vegetables. (OK tomato is botanically a fruit.)
Of the 17, over half are Brassicas, and six are the same plant species!
How many knew that most popular vegetables are the same plant?
Brassica oleracea
1] Collard Greens
2] Kale
8] Brussels Sprouts
11] Cabbage
13] Broccoli
17] Cauliflower
Brassica rapa
4] Bok Choy
6] Broccoli Rapa
7] Napa Cabbage
You can probably tell that mankind has grown to depend on the Brassicas for a lot of our vegetable needs.
I'm always expanding my uses and next I plan to start grating broccoli stems into cole slaw.
My real reason for creating this thread is to see if any of the smart people who frequent this forum either knows the answer to my question,
or knows someone who knows the answer to my long standing question about the origin of a certain cultivar of Brassica oleracea.
Years ago I saw on a few web pages where scientists claimed that the various cultivars of Brassica were developed from the wild cabbage plant,
which has been verified by DNA analysis.
I've read estimated that these selective breedings started as recently as 3500 years ago.
Others say it started about 7000 years ago. Either way, my question remains.
How did humans selectively breed the wild cabbage plant into Romanesco broccoli?

wild cabbage plant

Romanesco broccoli


the top 17 best foods are all vegetables. (OK tomato is botanically a fruit.)
Of the 17, over half are Brassicas, and six are the same plant species!
How many knew that most popular vegetables are the same plant?
Brassica oleracea
1] Collard Greens
2] Kale
8] Brussels Sprouts
11] Cabbage
13] Broccoli
17] Cauliflower
Brassica rapa
4] Bok Choy
6] Broccoli Rapa
7] Napa Cabbage
You can probably tell that mankind has grown to depend on the Brassicas for a lot of our vegetable needs.
I'm always expanding my uses and next I plan to start grating broccoli stems into cole slaw.
My real reason for creating this thread is to see if any of the smart people who frequent this forum either knows the answer to my question,
or knows someone who knows the answer to my long standing question about the origin of a certain cultivar of Brassica oleracea.
Years ago I saw on a few web pages where scientists claimed that the various cultivars of Brassica were developed from the wild cabbage plant,
which has been verified by DNA analysis.
I've read estimated that these selective breedings started as recently as 3500 years ago.
Others say it started about 7000 years ago. Either way, my question remains.
How did humans selectively breed the wild cabbage plant into Romanesco broccoli?
wild cabbage plant
Romanesco broccoli