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edible

Kale

Brassica oleracea

Climate-suitable non-native

Growing guidance

Horticultural figures below are practitioner estimates for planning, pending expert review. The botanical record further down is sourced and verifiable.

Current-climate suitability

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Future-climate resilience

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Sun

Full sun

Soil moisture

average, moisture-retentive

Heat tolerance

Up to about 34°C

Cold tolerance

Down to about -12°C

Waterlogging tolerance

3/5

Drought tolerance

2/5

Mature size

0.5–0.9 m tall, 0.5 m spread

Seasonal interest

Autumn to spring harvest · Blue green

Maintenance

medium

Wildlife supported

General wildlife value 2/5 (verified species relationships are shown only where structured data exists)

Known risks or warnings

Caterpillar and pigeon damage without netting.

Toxicity: none

Verified botanical record

Accepted scientific name
Brassica oleracea L.
Family
Brassicaceae (Brassicales)
Rank and status
species · accepted
GBIF record
Taxon 3042845

Recorded as introduced in: Albania, Algeria, Amazonia colombiana: sur del departamento del Vichada; el suroriente del Meta; todo el territorio de los departamentos de Amazonas, Caquetá, Guainía, Guaviare, Putumayo y Vaupés; la Bota Caucana; y las vertientes amazónicas de Nariño (la parte alta de los ríos Guamuez, Sucio, San Miguel y Aguarico), Anguilla, Antipodean Is., Assam, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Baltic States, Bangladesh, Belarus and 110 further regions

Ranges are exactly as recorded in the GBIF source checklists and may be incomplete for widely cultivated species.

Brassica oleracea, also known as wild cabbage in its uncultivated form, is a plant of the family Brassicaceae. The species originated from feral populations of related plants in the Eastern Mediterranean, where it was most likely first cultivated. It has many common cultivars that are used as culinary vegetables, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, kale, Brussels sprout, collard, Savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, and gai lan.

Description from Wikipedia — Brassica oleracea (CC BY-SA), shortened and unedited in substance.

Native status and geographic context

  • United Kingdom: climate-suitable
  • United States: climate-suitable
  • Australia: climate-suitable

Native status is never inferred from climate similarity. Plants restricted or invasive in a jurisdiction are excluded from recommendations there.

Demonstration data. Climate, plant and retailer records shown here are realistic samples awaiting horticultural validation and live data connections.