The Story of Broccoli

Italica / var. italica is a cultivar group, not a species. Broccoli raab and broccolini are not this card. Do not borrow cabbage’s 12th-century Germany line.

How it was found

Kew maps Brassica oleracea on Atlantic coasts of Great Britain, France and Spain. Native list: France, Great Britain, Spain. Kew Species Profile also says native to the Mediterranean region and southwestern Europe, as far north as southern England, found wild on seaside cliffs, and lists a distribution of France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom — Italy is on that profile distribution sentence, not on the taxon Native to list. USDA GRIN native rows: United Kingdom (coasts), France (west and north coasts), Spain (north coast), and Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). GRIN Germany and the profile’s Italy are not added onto Kew’s Native to list. GRIN treats B. oleracea var. italica Plenck (Broccoli Group) as cultivated only.

Kew Species Profile (species rank, not broccoli-only): Brassica oleracea has been cultivated for at least 2,000 years, possibly much longer; cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts are all cultivars of B. oleracea. Kew Italica Group (purple sprouting, sprouting broccoli): became popular in northern Europe in the 18th century. UC ANR Broccoli Production in California: broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) has been grown in Europe for centuries but became an important U.S. vegetable crop only since 1925; commercial California broccoli is hybrids of the Italian green type (green sprouting broccoli or calabrese). UC Sonoma MG: under cultivation in Europe for centuries; planted as a commercial crop in California in the 1920s.

How people used it

Kew lists food (also animal food, environmental uses). Kew Species Profile: Brassica vegetables eaten globally; Italica Group bears edible inflorescences not compacted into a single head; Botrytis Group (broccoli, cauliflower, calabrese) bears edible inflorescences in compact heads. UC IPM: immature flower heads are harvested; a portion of the stem is also edible. GRIN Broccoli Group: human food — vegetable (flower buds).

Kew lists medicine and poison with no specific broccoli folk recipe. Kew Species Profile mentions glucosinolates and alleged anti-cancer activity for Italica Group; that is not copied as a verified remedy. GRIN folklore is not copied.

Timeline

1. At least 2,000 years (species cultivation, Kew)

   The whole cole family, not broccoli-only

   Kew Species Profile: B. oleracea has been cultivated for at least 2,000 years, possibly much longer; a wide variety of forms developed. This is printed at species rank (cabbage/kale/cauliflower/broccoli/Brussels sprouts all cultivars), not as a broccoli-only first date. Kew’s Capitata “developed in Germany by the 12th century” is cabbage, not this card.

   Kew POWO Species Profile — Brassica oleracea

2. 18th century (Italica Group, Kew)

   Sprouting broccoli in northern Europe

   Kew Species Profile: Italica Group (purple sprouting, sprouting broccoli) became popular in northern Europe in the 18th century. Kew’s separate Botrytis Group also lists broccoli/calabrese; the two group names are not collapsed.

   Kew POWO Species Profile

3. 1753 / 1794

   Species 1753, Broccoli Group 1794

   Kew accepts Brassica oleracea L., first published in Sp. Pl.: 667 (1753). Kew treats B. oleracea var. capitata L. and var. gongylodes L. as synonyms of the species (not as separate species). USDA GRIN still maintains B. oleracea var. italica Plenck (Icon. pl. med. 6:29, t. 534. 1794) as Broccoli Group, cultivated only.

   Kew POWO; USDA GRIN

4. 1925 / 1920s

   California makes it a U.S. crop

   UC ANR Broccoli Production in California: important as a U.S. vegetable crop since 1925. UC Sonoma Master Gardeners: planted as a commercial crop in California in the 1920s, where it is now grown nearly exclusively (as printed). All commercial California broccoli are hybrids of the Italian green type, also called green sprouting broccoli or calabrese.

   UC ANR Broccoli Production in California; UC Sonoma MG

Cool to know

Growing notes for this plant live on the Plant Wiki. This page is origin and use, not a How-To.