The economic plants of the genus Brassica are mostly contained within 4 main species, and probably cover the widest well documented range of cultivated varieties that this project is ever going to cover. The work required to sort all the names is enormous. Apart from the sorting of names, inter-linking with other databases presents several strategic problems. The decision we have taken is not ideal but the best possible we could think of, given the present situation. To keep a consistent linking system we have established a "Brassica.html" file which covers superficially (botanical names only) all the plants we have worked with. The names within that file can be accessed from the outside in the usual manner. They are in turn linked internally to our more detailed files spread as follows. We have regrouped all references pertaining to Brassica on this page in order to avoid repetitions and omissions on our part. The names of various contributors on the other hand remain attached to the various sections / sets of records.
Note on Brassica juncea
We are not yet (2000) confident about the overall classification of "mustards", especially those of Chinese / Japanese origin and / or used in Asia. Many authors are equally confused and this is reflected in the group naming. Because some "mustards" only have either a Chinese or a Japanese name the only way to name them using the English language is by adopting one form of romanisation. If there is one thing that we have confidence in, it is our understanding of the romanisation systems used for Chinese and Japanese. We believe that if one goes down that path, the very least that one should do is to refrain from using non-standard systems. See "Note on Brassica oleracea" below. Because lexicographers do not do this consistantly and taxonomists are reluctant to conserve the old botanical system of classification, it is a little premature to rely either on group names alone or even on botanical names which are not altogether "stabilised". Therefore we are basing our B. juncea records on the old botanical classification. We have nevertheless attempted to associate to our records various group names found in the literature and it will become apparent to the reader that many of these are less than satisfactory.
Note on Brassica napus
Thanks to Wiersema & León many doubts have been removed from the classification of these species, especially the plants belonging to B. napus, often mistaken for B. oleracea varieties or cultivars. Many authors for example confuse turnips and rutabagas, Siberian kales such as 'Red Russian' with Scotch kales such as 'Curly Green', or with European kales such as Jersey tree-kale.
Note on Brassica oleracea
Because lexicographers do not romanise foreign names consistantly one cannot rely on group names alone to identify a cultivar or a group."Caisin Group" is a case in point. The commun pinyin romanisation for the two characters involved in the name of this "variety" is caixin.
Are the following legitimate names ?
Brassica oleracea L. convar. acephala (DC.) Alef. var. nanofimbriata
Brassica oleracea L. convar. acephala (DC.) Alef. var. quercina
Brassica oleracea L. convar. acephala (DC.) Alef. var. ramosa
Brassica oleracea L. convar. acephala (DC.) Alef. var. variegata
EURODICAUTOM, On-line Technical Dictionary in 12 languages provided by the European Commission < http://eurodic.echo.lu/cgi-bin/edicbin/EuroDicWWW.pl?page=expert > (Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Latin with authority names)
Gray A.R. 1989, "Taxonomy & Evolution of Broccolis & Cauliflowers", Baileya 23 (1): 28 - 46. 1989.
ISTA, 1982, A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant Names, Field Crops, Grasses and Vegetables, Second edition, International Seed Testing Association, Zurich, Switzerland.
Jansen P.C.M., Siemonsma J.S. & Narciso J.O. 1993, Brassica oleracea L., in Siemonsma J.S. & Kaem Piluek (Editors), Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) - N°8 : Vegetables, Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp 108 - 111.
Kerguélen Michel, 1998, Index Synonymique de la Flore de France, INRA. < http://www.dijon.inra.fr/dij/malherbo/fdf/accueil1.htm >. Start search THERE.
Kuo C.G. & Toxopeus H. 1993, Brassica rapa L. cv. group Chinese Cabbage, in Siemonsma J.S. & Kaem Piluek (Editors), PROSEA - N°8 : Vegetables, Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp 127 - 130.
Larkcom J. 1991, Oriental Vegetables, John Murray Publishers Pty. Ltd. London, UK.
Mabberley D.J. 1997, The Plant-Book : a Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants, 2d Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
Opeña R.T. 1993, Brassica juncea (L.) Czernjaew, in Siemonsma J.S. & Kaem Piluek (Editors), PROSEA - N°8 : Vegetables, Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp 104 - 108.
Sagwansupyakorn C. 1993, Brassica oleracea L. cv. group Chinese Kale , in Siemonsma J.S. & Kaem Piluek (Editors), PROSEA - N°8 : Vegetables, Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp 115 - 117.
Tay D.C.S. & Toxopeus H. 1993, Brassica rapa L. cv. group Pak Choi , in Siemonsma J.S. & Kaem Piluek (Editors), PROSEA - N°8 : Vegetables, Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp 130 - 134.
Toxopeus H. 1993, Brassica rapa L. , in Siemonsma J.S. & Kaem Piluek (Editors), PROSEA - N°8 : Vegetables, Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp 121 - 123.
Toxopeus H. & Jansen P.C.M. 1993, Brassica L. , in Siemonsma J.S. & Kaem Piluek (Editors), PROSEA - N°8 : Vegetables, Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp 101 - 104.
USDA, ARS, 2000, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Available: www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxdump.pl?brassica (01 September 2000). (A number of languages, some romanised, Latin with authority names)
van der Vossen H.A.M. 1993, Brassica oleracea L. cv. groups Cauliflower & Broccoli , in Siemonsma J.S. & Kaem Piluek (Editors), PROSEA - N°8 : Vegetables, Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp 111 - 115.
van der Vossen H.A.M. 1993, Brassica oleracea L. cv. groups White Headed Cabbage, Red Headed Cabbage, Savoy Headed Cabbage, in Siemonsma J.S. & Kaem Piluek (Editors), PROSEA - N°8 : Vegetables, Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp 117 - 121.
Wiersema J. H. & León B. 1999, World Economic Plants : a Standard Reference. CRC Press LLC.
Woodward Penny. 2000, Asian Herbs & Vegetables - How to Identify, Grow and Use them in Australia. Hyland House Publishing, Victoria, Australia.
Xie Zongwa & Yu Youqin (Editors), 1996, Materia Medica, Chinese Terminology, Vol. 1, Renminweisheng Publishing House Beijing, China. (Latin with authority names and Chinese-simplified, text in Chinese).
Contributors to the pages on Brassica (Personal communication) : See individual pages.
Date created: 01 / 08 / 1999
Authorised by Prof. Snow Barlow
Last modified: 01 / 08 / 1999
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