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Centuries of selective breeding turned wild cabbage into different vegetables

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Re: Centuries of selective breeding turned wild cabbage into different vegetables

#51

Post by [deleted] »

culi wrote: post #48
hollerith wrote: post #17

What I appreciate most about these vegetables is that they're much lower in that pesky oxalic acid than most vegetables in the human diet.

Since we've been eating oxalic acid for millions of years I highly doubt it's a problem for us. In fact it acts as an antioxidant, can inhibit the growth of many bacteria/fungi, and can bind to heavy metals like lead and mercury. It makes sense to avoid stuff high in oxalic acid if you're at risk of kidney stones but it seems silly to worry about something we've been consuming for longer than we've been a species for

[deleted]

Re: Centuries of selective breeding turned wild cabbage into different vegetables

#52

Post by mjd »

culi wrote: post #46
mjd wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bonus trivia: unlike nearly all plants, brassicas make do without symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza

Yeah the family is pretty unique for not relying on mycorrhizal fungi but it does still rely on other fungi like Serendipita indica which is a basidiomycete fungus and acts as a facultative endophyte. Meaning it can live on its own in the soil but it can also develop inside plant roots and play many of the same roles mycorrhizal fungi play. It's actually at the center of a lot of research attention right now for its…

I didn't know about this. Thanks!

Re: Centuries of selective breeding turned wild cabbage into different vegetables

#53

Post by like_any_other »

rectang wrote: post #40

It's amazing that it only takes centuries. Under natural selection, species traits stay relatively stable for thousands or even millions of years. I suppose that means natural selection tends to have more of a pronounced effect when there has been a severe environmental change that wipes out a large fraction of the population and leaves behind only those with adaptive mutations. Otherwise, the adaptive mutation stays…

I'm just glad this only applies to plants, and possibly animals, and not humans.

Re: Centuries of selective breeding turned wild cabbage into different vegetables

#54

Post by rectang »

like_any_other wrote: post #53
rectang wrote: post #40

It's amazing that it only takes centuries. Under natural selection, species traits stay relatively stable for thousands or even millions of years. I suppose that means natural selection tends to have more of a pronounced effect when there has been a severe environmental change that wipes out a large fraction of the population and leaves behind only those with adaptive mutations. Otherwise, the adaptive mutation stays…

I'm just glad this only applies to plants, and possibly animals, and not humans.

nervous laughter

Re: Centuries of selective breeding turned wild cabbage into different vegetables

#55

Post by defrost »

IAmBroom wrote: post #32
defrost wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The roots of the young Brachychiton acuminatus can be cooked in ashes and eaten like a sweet potato .. but despite the vast number of rocks in its native habitat .. not a single brassica oleracia will be found by throwing them.

The point is over ... ... ... there, not here.

So .. self confessed pointless comment?

Meanwhile, back on topic, there is produce all across the globe, not all of it surrounded by brassica oleracia.

Re: Centuries of selective breeding turned wild cabbage into different vegetables

#56

Post by lovich »

icegreentea2 wrote: post #29

Because I love cabbage... the blog post shows "Gai lan" as an Asian example. There are so much more! You are probably aware of napa cabbage, but there's also Taiwan Cabbage (goes by other names of course...) https://www.westcoastseeds.com/products/taiwan-cabbage It looks a lot like a flatter "green/european" cabbage. It's leaves and stems are finer and softer than a European cabbage, while still being pretty crunchy…

celery has a similar differentiation with stalk celery(the standard one in american supermarkets), celeriac, and leaf celery

Re: Centuries of selective breeding turned wild cabbage into different vegetables

#57

Post by InfiniteRand »

sebastiennight wrote: post #3

I already knew about this phylogenetic tree (although I have always heard the common ancestor be called the "wild mustard", not wild cabbage), but the article was quite interesting. I only wish that as a PSA, they had included the reminder to people over 30 years old who hate Brussels sprouts, that the delicious ones you can eat today are not the ones they hated in their youth, and if you haven't had sprouts in years…

My family has typically stir fried them, chopped up with olive oil salt and pepper, so I always got confused by Brussels sprouts horror stories

Re: Centuries of selective breeding turned wild cabbage into different vegetables

#59

Post by amenhotep »

sebastiennight wrote: post #3

I already knew about this phylogenetic tree (although I have always heard the common ancestor be called the "wild mustard", not wild cabbage), but the article was quite interesting. I only wish that as a PSA, they had included the reminder to people over 30 years old who hate Brussels sprouts, that the delicious ones you can eat today are not the ones they hated in their youth, and if you haven't had sprouts in years…

People always say this and no, they still taste nasty. It would be interesting to compare today's sprouts to one of the original examples, they must've been truly foul if there's been such an improvement.

Re: Centuries of selective breeding turned wild cabbage into different vegetables

#60

Post by sebastiennight »

amenhotep wrote: post #59
sebastiennight wrote: post #3

I already knew about this phylogenetic tree (although I have always heard the common ancestor be called the "wild mustard", not wild cabbage), but the article was quite interesting. I only wish that as a PSA, they had included the reminder to people over 30 years old who hate Brussels sprouts, that the delicious ones you can eat today are not the ones they hated in their youth, and if you haven't had sprouts in years…

People always say this and no, they still taste nasty. It would be interesting to compare today's sprouts to one of the original examples, they must've been truly foul if there's been such an improvement.

Maybe it's like cilantro, and you're one of the unlucky few people who got the genes for "[this] tastes like dirty soap"
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