A biennial or perennating herb with a strong but not tuberous tap-root and a thick ± decumbent stem with conspicuous leaf scars below, 60-150 cm tall after flowering and fruiting. Lower leaves large, up to 40 cm long, stalked, lyrate¬pinnatipartite, strongly white veined; terminal lobe very large with rounded apex and crenulate and undulated margin, base ± obliquely cordate; lateral lobes 3-5 paired, much smaller, obovate, recurved; upper leaves oblong, entire, clasping about 1/3 of the stem; all leaves fleshy, glabrous and glaucous. Racemes 20-40-flowered, ebracteate, increasing up to 30 cm or more in fruit. Flowers 10-15 mm across, pale yellow; pedicel up to 20 mm long in fruit. Sepals 8-11 mm long, 2-3 mm broad, erect, oblong, subequal, obtuse. Petals 15-20 mm long, 4-6 mm. broad, obovate, clawed, apex rounded. Stamens all erect, c. 10:12 mm long; anthers 3-3.5 mm long, oblong-linear, subobtuse. Siliquae 50-100 mm long, 4-5 mm broad, ± cylindrical with a short, 5-10 mm long, seedless (rarely 1-seeded) beak, and 1-3 mm long stipe (gynophore); valves firm with a prominent mid-vein and faint reticulate veins, glabrous; seeds 15-20 in each locule, c. 2 mm in diameter, globose, grey-brown, finely alveolate.

Type: Described from England.

Distribution: The wild Cabbage, probably a native of the British Isles and Medi¬terranean Coast, is not found locally, but its many varieties, widely differing in vegetative morphology, are cultivated almost throughout the world. However, the following varieties are widely cultivated within our area during winter.