Acephala group explained

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Species:Brassica oleracea
Group:Acephala Group
Origin:unknown
Subdivision:Many; see text.

The acephala group refers to any type of Brassica which grows without the central 'head' typical of many varieties of cabbage. These are included within the species Brassica oleracea, such as kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala).[1] The name literally means "without a head" in contrast to those varieties known as capitata or "with a head". This group includes a number of species, both wild and cultivated, many of which are grown for their edible leaves and flowers.

Groups of cultivars

Different sources break down the Brassica genus into different grouping as shown below:

Mabberley

Mabberley (q.v.) has these groups: Napobrassica Group / Pabularia Group / Acephala Group / Alboglabra Group / Botrytis Group / Capitata Group / Gemmifera Group / Gongylodes Group / Italica Group / Tronchuda Group / Chinensis Group / Japonica Group / Pekinensis Group / Perviridis Group / Rapifera Group

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew[2] has eight cultivar groups: Acephala Group (kale, borecole, collards) / Alboglabra Group (Chinese kale, Chinese broccoli, gai lan, kai lan) / Botrytis Group (broccoli, cauliflower, broccoflower, calabrese) / Capitata Group (cabbage, Savoy cabbage, red cabbage) / Gemmifera Group (sprouts, Brussels sprouts) / Gongylodes Group (kohlrabi, knol-kohl) / Italica Group (purple sprouting, sprouting broccoli) / Tronchuda Group (Portuguese cabbage, seakale cabbage)

Members

The Acephala group of cultivars or variety for the species Brassica oleracea includes:[3]

Acephala means "no head"[12] as the plants have leaves with no central head; the opposite arrangement of white cabbage, or Savoy cabbage. Each cultivar has a different genome owing to mutation,[13] evolution, ecological niche,[14] and intentional plant-breeding by humans. Mabberley (1997, p. 120) has the Acephala group in three sub-groups: kale, borecole, and collards.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Random House Webster's College Dictionary, New York 1992, p. 736 (s.v. kale)
  2. Web site: Brassica oleracea (wild cabbage). Royal Botanic Gardens. kew.org.
  3. Web site: RHS Plant Finder. rhs.org.uk. Royal Horticultural Society. 25 November 2014.
  4. (Quote.) "Originally, a general name for any plant of the cabbage kind, genus Brassica (of which the varieties were formerly less distinct than now)." ("colewort, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2014. Web. 26 November 2014.)
  5. Web site: Plants for the Front Porch . Henry Homeyer: The Gardening Guy . Henry Homeyer.
  6. Web site: Ornamental Kale/Ornamental Cabbage. Walter Reeves / The Simple Gardener, Inc. The Georgia Gardener. 18 August 2010 .
  7. Web site: Flowering kale. Better Homes & Gardens. Meredith Corporation.
  8. Web site: About Flowering Cabbage Plants. Demand Media. Gardenguides.com.
  9. Web site: The ornamental cabbage. James Alexander-Sinclair. Immediate Media Company Ltd. Gardenersworld.com. 2014-11-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20140711101414/http://www.gardenersworld.com/blogs/plants/the-ornamental-cabbage/2897.html. 2014-07-11. dead.
  10. Mabberley, D. (1997) Mabberley's plant-book : A portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  11. Web site: Oxford Dictionaries. Definition of Scotch kale in English. https://web.archive.org/web/20130728232104/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Scotch-kale. dead. July 28, 2013.
  12. Web site: Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster :Acephala.
  13. Web site: Courses: "Genome evolution and mutation".. 25 November 2014.
  14. 10.1016/j.cub.2007.04.033. 17. 11. Coupling Genetic and Ecological-Niche Models to Examine How Past Population Distributions Contribute to Divergence. Current Biology. 940–946. 17475496 . Knowles . LL . Carstens . BC . Keat . ML. 2007-06-05. 13891478. free.
  15. Mabberley, q.v.

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