By William Orem
December 29, 2016
Source: Indian Public Media
Photo Source: Unsplash, Louis Hansel
While there are many edible plants that can be foraged from the wild (mushrooms, asparagus and onions among many others), broccoli isn't one of them.
Broccoli is a human invention. It was bred out of the wild cabbage plant, Brassica oleracea . It was cultivated to have a specific taste and flavor that was more palatable to people.
Here's how that worked. Wild cabbage has small flower buds and is a biennial. That means it only flowers every other year.
In a controlled environment, it can be forced to reproduce itself many times. When an offspring of the plant with larger, tastier buds grows, gardeners threw away the less tasty plants and started reproducing from that one.
Brassica oleracea isn't just the source of broccoli. Its cultivars (a word for plants that can only be produced via selective breeding) include cauliflower, kohlrabi, kale, brussels sprouts, and the cabbages found in grocery stores.
What are you growing in your garden this season? Are you growing anything this winter? Will you grow indoors or outdoors?
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