Brassica fruticulosa

Mediterranean cabbage

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Mediterranean cabbage is a naturalized herb found in southern coastal California in disturbed areas and fields at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from December to March, this plant produces yellow to white flowers 7 to 15 millimeters long with petals 3 to 4 millimeters wide. Growing with branched stems 30 to 90 centimeters tall, it develops as a glabrous annual or perennial herb with multiple branches. Its leaves are pinnately lobed with 1 to 3 lateral lobe pairs, basal leaves up to 10 centimeters long and early-deciduous, while cauline leaves are petioled and dentate to lobed. The fruit develops as a slender, cylindric pod 15 to 30 millimeters long that narrows between seeds, with a terminal segment 3 to 6 millimeters long.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed areas, fields

Bloom period: Dec-Mar

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: SCo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.