Acephala group
Type of Brassica plants
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Groups of cultivars
Different sources break down the Brassica genus into different grouping as shown below:
Mabberley
Mabberley (q.v.) has these groups: Napobrassica Group / Pabularia Group / Acephala Group / Alboglabra Group / Botrytis Group / Capitata Group / Gemmifera Group / Gongylodes Group / Italica Group / Tronchuda Group / Chinensis Group / Japonica Group / Pekinensis Group / Perviridis Group / Rapifera Group
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew has eight cultivar groups: Acephala Group (kale, borecole, collards) / Alboglabra Group (Chinese kale, Chinese broccoli, gai lan, kai lan) / Botrytis Group (broccoli, cauliflower, broccoflower, calabrese) / Capitata Group (cabbage, Savoy cabbage, red cabbage) / Gemmifera Group (sprouts, Brussels sprouts) / Gongylodes Group (kohlrabi, knol-kohl) / Italica Group (purple sprouting, sprouting broccoli) / Tronchuda Group (Portuguese cabbage, seakale cabbage)
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The Acephala group of cultivars or variety for the species Brassica oleracea includes:
- kale, or borecole, or colewort
- curly kale
- Tuscan kale (cavolo nero), also known as black kale, Lacinato kale, or palm tree kale
- American English collard greens, or collard
- U.K. English Spring greens (Brassica oleracea)
- decorative kale, ornamental kale, flowering kale, flowering cabbage, or ornamental cabbage
- Jersey cabbage, Brassica oleracea longata. The long woody stems are used for walking sticks and the foliage for cow-fodder.
- Scotch kale
Acephala means "no head" as the plants have leaves with no central head; the opposite arrangement of white cabbage, or Savoy cabbage. Each cultivar has a different genome owing to mutation, evolution, ecological niche, and intentional plant-breeding by humans. Mabberley (1997, p. 120) has the Acephala group in three sub-groups: kale, borecole, and collards.