Which Part of the Plant is Cabbage?

Answer: Cabbage is a vegetative part of the plant. Specifically, it is a terminal bud made up of tightly packed leaves. So, cabbage is classified as a modified shoot where the leaves form a compact head. Let’s understand it in a simpler way.

When we eat cabbage, we are actually eating the leafy head of the plant. These leaves are not spread out like normal leaves on a branch. Instead, they are tightly wrapped around each other in layers, forming what we call a “head.” This head develops from the terminal bud of the cabbage plant.

What is a Terminal Bud?

A terminal bud is the growing point at the top of a plant stem. In cabbage, this bud does not grow upwards into a stem with branches like in most plants. Instead, it stays close to the ground and produces lots of overlapping leaves.

How Is It Different from Regular Leaves?

The cabbage leaves grow so close together that they form a compact structure. These leaves are usually broad, smooth, and filled with nutrients, which is why cabbage is considered a healthy vegetable. The part that we eat doesn’t have flowers, seeds, or fruits, just leaves.

Is Cabbage a Fruit or a Stem?

This is a common confusion among students. Cabbage is not a fruit because fruits come from flowers and contain seeds. Cabbage is also not a stem, because the edible part doesn’t have nodes or internodes. Instead, it’s a group of modified leaves growing from a very short stem.

Scientific Information of Cabbage:

• Scientific Name: Brassica oleracea (var. capitata)
• Plant Family: Brassicaceae (Mustard family)
• Plant Part Eaten: Leafy bud / Terminal bud
• Type of Vegetable: Leafy or bud vegetable
  

So, in short, a Cabbage is a leaf bud of the plant, specifically, a terminal bud made up of overlapping leaves. It is a vegetative part, not a fruit or flower. You can think of cabbage as a short-stemmed plant where the uppermost leaves keep growing around each other to form a tight, edible head.

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