Taxonomy and evolution of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica)

Genetic relationships of Portuguese coles and other close relatedBrassica genotypes using nuclear RFLPs

“…These preliminary results suggest the existence of three major regions of domestication of B, oleracea in Europe: one in Italy with the broccoli and the cauliflower (Gray, 1982;Crisp, 1983); the second one in Portugal and characterized by the leafy Portuguese coles, tronchuda cabbage and Galega kale landraces; and the third one in Central-North Europe where different cabbages and kales were originally developed. Kailan seems to have evolved separately from the other B. oleracea cultivars in Eastern Asia and is genetically closer to the wild B. oleracea.…”

Handbook of Plant Food Phytochemicals

“…In a detailed study which evaluated the glucosinolate profile of 50 broccoli accessions grown under uniform cultural conditions using HPLC, Kushad et al (1999) reported glucoraphanin as the predominant glucosinolate, with levels ranging from 0.8 tmol/g DW in the cultivar EV6-1 to 21.7 tmol/g DW in the cultivar Brigadier -a 27 fold difference [87]. Cultivated forms of B. oleracea are believed to have originated in the middle east, from where they were introduced to Italy which is regarded as the centre of diversity for botrytis and italica groups [58,100]. Some studies have indicated that wild Brassicas contain higher levels of glucosinolates than cultivated varieties [112].…”

Effect of Nitrogen and Boron in Seed Yield and Yield Attributing Characters of Broccoli

“…Broccoli, which is a member of the Brassicaceae family, is a compact, rapidly developing floral vegetable that is usually harvested when the flowering heads are immature (Gray, 1982). It is one of the best and economically lucrative vegetable and more nutritious than any other vegetables of the same genus.…”