Cabbage
Brassica oleracea
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in fields, gardens, disturbed areas, sometimes weakly persistent from cultivation. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 10–24 inches
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Biennial or perennial
- Bloom
- May to August
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 8 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
54CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Brassica
- Abagrotis alternataGreater Red Dart, Mottled Grey Cutworm
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Agnorisma badinodisPale-Banded Dart
- Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Agrotis malefidaRascal Dart, Pale-Sided Cut-Worm, Shagreened Cut-Worm
- Agrotis venerabilisVenerable Dart, Dusky Cut-Worm
- Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
- Anatrachyntis badiaFlorida Pink Scavanger Caterpillar
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
Show all 54
- Argyrotaenia ivanaIvana Leafroller Moth
- Ascia monusteGreat Southern White
- Calpodes ethliusBrazilian Skipper, Canna Skipper, Canna Leafroller
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
- Condica sutorThe Cobbler, Cobbler Groundling
- Derrima stellataPink Star
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Eustixia pupulaSpotted Peppergrass Moth
- Evergestis rimosalisCross-Striped Cabbageworm, Cross-Shaped Cabbageworm
- Feltia herilisMaster's Dart
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Feltia repletaReplete Dart
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Hellula phidilealisCabbage Budworm
- Hellula rogatalisCabbage Webworm
- Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
- Lacinipolia renigeraBristly Ground Cat, Bristly Cutworm Moth, Kidney Spotted "Mamestra"
- Manduca sextaCarolina Sphinx, Tomatoe Sphinx, Tobacco Hornworm
- Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Nephelodes miniansBronzed Cutworm
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pontia protodiceCheckered White
- Pyrrhia ciliscaAmerican Bordered Sallow, Noble Sun Moth
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera albulaWhite-Spotted Armyworm, Gray-Streaked Armyworm
- Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
- Sunira bicoloragoBicolored Sallow
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
- Xanthorhoe labradorensisLabrador Carpet, Packard’s Carpet
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
6BirdsRecorded eating Brassica in Louisiana
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Louisiana, most records first.
- Mourning DoveSeeds. 3 diet records
- House FinchSeeds. 2 diet records
- American Pipit1 diet record
- Dark-eyed JuncoSeeds. 1 diet record
- Song SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- White-crowned SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Birds that eat Brassica 6
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Brassicaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Yellow
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “10–24 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Biennial or perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Broccoli; Brussels Sprouts; Cauliflower; Collard Greens; Kale; Kohlrabi
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Louisiana occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications