(Brassica)

(India Mustard)

A pungently flavored green, India mustard is a fast growing, cool season annual or biennial that originates from Asia but has been introduced as a weed in many other parts of the world. Its greens add zest to salads and stir-fries and its pungent seeds are used to make brown mustard.

India mustard produces rosettes of large, oval, lobed leaves. The leaves are thin, lightly hairy and have wavy edges. Purple or red-leaved selections are common. It also produces a large, turnip-like taproot but...

(Florida Broadleaf India Mustard, India Mustard)

Mustard greens are a southern staple and the vigorous selection, 'Florida Broadleaf', grows exceptionally well in southern winters because it produces quickly but is slow to bolt. The leaves can be harvested as quickly as 45 days after sowing and add zest to salads, sandwiches and cooked dishes.

India mustard is a fast growing, cool season annual or biennial that originates from Asia but has been introduced as a weed in many other parts of the world. It produces rosettes of large, broad, green...

(India Mustard, Osaka Purple Mustard)

Bearing pungently flavored leaves that add zest and color to salads and cooked dishes, 'Osaka Purple' is a cultivar of India mustard, a cool-season annual that originates from Asia. Its rosettes of broad, oval, crinkled leaves grow from a taproot. The purple-hued leaves are ready for harvest in about 45 days after sowing. 'Osaka Purple' is more compact and has broader leaves than the comparable selection, 'Red Giant'. Hot weather causes plants to "bolt", or produce flower stalks. The flowers clusters...

(India Mustard, Red Giant Mustard)

As the name suggests, ‘Red Giant’ is a large India mustard that produces impressive clusters of flavorful, burgundy red leaves. The mature leaves can be harvested as quickly as 48 days after sowing and add zest to salads, sandwiches and cooked dishes. Harvest after 25 days for baby greens.

India mustard is a fast growing, cool season annual or biennial that originates from Asia but has been introduced as a weed in many other parts of the world. It produces rosettes of large, oval, crinkled...

(India Mustard, Southern Giant Curled India Mustard)

The favorite southern mustard green, 'Southern Giant Curled', is an heirloom cultivar of India mustard, a cool-season annual that originates from Asia. The leaves can be harvested as quickly as 56 days after sowing and are excellent for cooking. This 1935 All-America Selections Winner has remained popular because it’s a good garden performer with excellent flavor. It is also relatively cold-hardy.

'Southern Giant Curled' produces rosettes of large, oval leaves that are bright green and curly....

(Rape, Rutabaga, Turnip)

Rapeseed is grown for its oil-rich seed, edible greens and tasty fleshy roots. Its greatest value is its bitter-tasting oil which is used industrially to make biodiesel fuel. Canola oil, which has a mild flavor and is favored for cooking, also comes from a variety of Brassica napus. Some types of rape are grown for animal forage but many are raised for their flavorful greens and large, edible roots. The common name, rape, is derived from the Medieval Latin word rapum, which means...

(Rutabaga, Swede , Swedish Turnip)

Long grown as animal fodder and for its edible rootstock, this biennial vegetable probably originated as a hybrid between turnip (Brassica rapa) and wild cabbage (B. oleracea). The large, swollen, succulent "root" is purple, yellow or white with yellowish flesh. It actually comprises the hypocotyl (the portion of the embryonic plant between the root and the seedling leaves) and the base of the stem. Plants produce a rosette of large, bluish, deeply lobed leaves that are...

(Black Mustard)

(Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Kale, Kohlrabi)

Cabbage, kale, collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, and other important green vegetables all descend from this short-lived perennial from coastal areas of western and southern Europe.

In the wild, Brassica oleracea forms dense over-wintering rosettes of large, fleshy, lobed, gray-green leaves, which give rise in spring to tall spikes of pale yellow, four-petaled flowers. Developed over many centuries, cultivated forms may have loose or densely packed rosettes...