Ornamental Cabbage

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) is a horticultural plant native to the Middle East, which was known as “Cyprus Cabbage” by the Romans and as “Syrian Cabbage” by the Arabs. Its use spread throughout Europe in the XVIth century. There are numerous varieties of the so-called “Ornamental cabbage”, and their use in gardens is popular due to their special shapes and leaf colours. The most common ones have big curly leaves and the shades of the inner leaves range from red to pink, yellow and white. It is usually an annual plant, although there are perennial varieties which are becoming more popular because they are most showy in winter. In fact, cold weather and frost bring out their colouring. In the Alhambra, they are mostly used in the orchard-garden of the Paratas Bajas del Partal and in the upper terrace of the Huerta Colorada in the Generalife.