It is not surprising that head cabbage ( green, red and Savoy ), the stoutest and most stalwart of the wild cabbage family, stayed up north, while some of its sexier relatives, like lacinato ( black kale ) and broccoli rabe, headed south to drizzle olive oil on their leaves.
12.
There is evidence that wild cabbages were commonly used as early as 2000 B . C . in Europe, and the wild version ( from which brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower were developed, along with modern cabbage ) still grows along the rocky chalk coasts of England and Denmark, in parts of France and along the Mediterranean.
13.
Kohlrabi has been created by artificial selection for lateral meristem growth ( a swollen, nearly spherical shape ); its origin in nature is the same as that of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard greens, and Brussels sprouts : they are all bred from, and are the same species as, the wild cabbage plant ( " Brassica oleracea " ).
