The surprising origin of sprouts, the vegetable we either love or hate

Sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and a dozen other vegetables are all the same species, Brassica oleracea. Now we have finally discovered their common ancestor



Environment



14 December 2022

Ruby Fresson

I STUDY the dogs of the plant world. That is the answer you will get if you ask Chris Pires what he does for a living. He will tell you that dogs, despite their dazzling diversity, are all members of a single species – and that the plant species he studies has its own equivalents of pugs, Labradors and Great Danes. He will then recount his odyssey to find this plant’s closest living wild relative – its equivalent of the wolf – to learn how it came to be tamed. It is a tale of Greek gods, island giants and ancient antidotes to intoxication.

Having heard it, you will never see Brussels sprouts in quite the same way. Often overcooked and under-loved, you wouldn’t expect this Christmas stalwart to have an exotic backstory. But the other dishes in your festive spread reveal why it is so fascinating. Whether you are eating cauliflower, Savoy cabbage, broccoli, kale, collard greens or even kohlrabi, all these vegetables belong to a single species: Brassica oleracea.

Just how you can get such variety from one plant has intrigued scientists, including Charles Darwin, for centuries. It makes B. oleracea a fantastic way to study the power of selective breeding. “Domestication in general is fascinating because it’s like fast evolution,” says Pires, an evolutionary botanist at the University of Missouri. And solving this conundrum could help create new crops that are resistant to climate change.

B. oleracea is the species name of at least 16 different vegetables that come in an incredible range of forms, from …

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