Brassica oleracea costata
Couve Tronchuda
a biennial member of the Brassica genus in the family Brassicaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Brassicaceae
- Genus
- Brassica
- Life cycle
- biennial
- Height
- 1.5 m
- Fertility
- Self fertile, Bees
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
- Pollinators
- Bees
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Leaves - raw or cooked[3][6][7][4]. Tender[5]. Most commonly eaten as a vegetable, though the younger and more tender leaves can be added to salads. Some people find the raw leaves hard to digest[K]. The leaves can be available all through the winter[5]. The leaf ribs are cooked like seakale (Crambe maritima.)[6][7].
- Plant part
- Leaves
Environment
- Range
- A cultivated form of B. oleracea.
- Habitat
- Not known in the wild.
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 8+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay, heavy clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerances
- high wind, maritime exposure
- Wind
- Yes
- Maritime
- Yes
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - sow in a seedbed outdoors in April. Plant out as space permits in summer. Do not let the seedlings get overcrowded or they will soon become leggy and will not make such good plants. If your seedlings do get leggy, it is possible to plant them rather deeper into the soil - the buried stems will soon form roots and the plant will be better supported.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Succeeds in full sun in a well-drained fertile preferably alkaline soil[2][4]. Prefers a heavy soil[2]. Succeeds in any reasonable soil, but is best when grown in a rich soil[7]. Couve tronchuda is a non-hearting form of cabbage with large green leaves and prominent white midribs that are available to eat mainly in the autumn[4]. The plant is transitional between the hearting cabbages and the kales[4]. Occasionally cultivated for its edible leaves and leaf stem, it is taller growing than the cabbages but less hardy, tolerating temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[4]. One report suggests that it might be resistant to club root[7]. A good bee plant[1].
References
International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981-00-00
Simons. New Vegetable Growers Handbook. Penguin 1977-00-00 ISBN 0-14-046-050-0
Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Vegetables Macmillan Reference Books, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0 333 62640 0
Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press ISBN 0-89815-041-8
Organ. J. Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. Faber 1960-00-00