Cabbage, Broccoli, and Brussels Sprouts the Same Species?

Brassica Plant

Did you know that cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts are the same species? They are derived from the Brassica plant that farmers in the past have grown for food. Broccoli and cauliflower was the result of breeding Brassica plants with thick clusters of flowers. Cabbage and Brussels sprouts are the result of breeding Brassica plants with thick clusters of leaves. The roots are also believed to be the ancestor of the modern tulip.

Don't believe me? A definition for what makes a species is that they cannot interbreed. However, as an example, broccoli and cauliflower can breed, resulting in broccoflower.

These plants are all examples of the result of artificial selection where farmers select for favourable traits in a population of organisms and the resulting population will eventually have more and more of that trait. This can also be seen in dogs and horses.

Another great example is the modern corn. Its ancestor is a wild plant called the teosinte that have only about ten or twenty kernels on one cob.