Couve. (Brassica oleracea)

This Cruciferous plant, which is believed to be native to the maritime rocks of England and the French coast of the English Channel, is widely cultivated everywhere for food purposes, and in Madeira, it is represented by the varieties acephala, capitata, and Botrytis. The first variety includes the couve rinchão or vaqueira and the couve tronchuda, both without a head; in the second variety, there are the couve murciana, the repôlho, the imperial, the alcanhão, the pão de açucar, etc.; and in the third, there are the couve-for and the couve-bróculo. The cabbages of the first variety and the repôlho cabbage come from seeds produced on the island, while the other forms always come from seeds from Portugal and abroad. In the cauliflower, it is not the leaves that are used, but the more or less fleshy inflorescences with almost always abortive flowers. The cabbages of the first and second varieties are used not only for making soup but also for boiling, cut into small pieces, with cornmeal, to which they give a pleasant flavor.