Station 1 | Cabbage

Cabbage – Brassica oleracea

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea), like other cruciferous plants (Brassicaceae), is known to produce certain phytochemicals called glucosinolates. Glucosinolates are sulphur- and nitrogen-containing chemical compounds that give vegetables such as cabbage and cress their slightly bitter and pungent taste and play an important role in defence against plant diseases and herbivores.

Unlike many other plant families, cruciferous plants cannot form beneficial symbioses with nodule bacteria or arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. This could be due to the defensive effect of glucosinolates – science is at the beginning here. For a successful beneficial symbiosis, all of the plant’s defence mechanisms must be overcome. Only a few endophytic fungi that live inside the plant seem to be able to do this.

Header: Wirsing ©Grafik: BotMuc/Tanja Simon