The Evolution Of Broccoli Into A Human-Made Invention

Ancient broccoli bears very little resemblance to the vegetable we know today. It is a cultivar, which is what happens when farmers and botanists crossbreed different plants.

Broccoli is a cultivar of Brassica oleracea, which folks may recognize by the name wild cabbage or wild mustard.

The first version of broccoli was likely Calabrian broccoli, or broccolo Calabrese, which emerged in Southern Italy, and is the most common variety today.

Breeding broccoli from wild cabbage took well over a thousand years. It gained popularity in the Roman Empire, and was unknown outside the Italian peninsula until the 1500s.