Kerguelen Cabbage
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Brassicales Family: Brassicaceae Genus: Pringlea Species: P. antiscorbutica
Binomial name
Pringlea antiscorbutica Hook. f.

Kerguelen cabbage (Pringlea antiscorbutica) is a flowering plant in the Family Brassicaceae and thus related to cabbage. The species grows on the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Crozet, Prince Edward, Marion and Kerguelen Islands. These remote islands are at roughly 50º South Latitude, constantly buffeted by strong winds. This makes pollination by flying insects impractical, explaining why the Kerguelen cabbage is self-pollinating. At the mature stage, this species exhibits several adaptations linked to cold tolerance such as high polyamine levels, potential adaptations and polyamine response. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (3552 × 2372 pixel, file size: 637 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) fr: Chou de Kerguelen (Pringlea antiscorbutica) en: Kerguelens cabbage (Pringlea antiscorbutica) scan de photo : B.navez - Kerguelen - 1999 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta—liverworts Anthocerotophyta—hornworts Bryophyta—mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta—rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta—zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta—clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta—trimerophytes Pteridophyta—ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta—seed ferns Pinophyta—conifers Cycadophyta—cycads Ginkgophyta—ginkgo Gnetophyta—gnetae Magnoliophyta—flowering plants... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... Orders See text. ... Families See text. ... Genera See text. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... Genera See text. ... Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. ... Orthographic projection centred over the Iles Crozet The Crozet Islands (French: ÃŽles Crozet or officially Archipel Crozet) are a sub-antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean, part of the French Southern Territories. ... Orthographic projection centered on the Prince Edward Islands Map of Prince Edward Islands The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are politically part of South Africa. ... Basic data Administrative status: district Country: French Southern and Antarctic Lands Capital: Port-aux-Français Population: ca. ... Self-pollination is the activity that arises when a flower has both stamen and pistils. ... The polyamines are organic compounds having two or more primary amino groups - such as putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, and spermine - that are growth factors in both eucaryotic and procaryotic cells. ...

Pringlea antiscorbutica is a plant which looks somewhat like the common cabbage and belongs to the same family (Brassicaceae). It was named after the island of its discovery, Kerguelen Island, and its generic name derives from Sir John Pringle, President of the Royal Society at the time of its discovery by Captain James Cook's Surgeon, William Anderson in 1776. See genus (mathematics) for the use of the term in mathematics. ... John Pringle. ... James Cook, portrait by Nathaniel Dance, c. ...

An old Kerguelen cabbage on the péninsule Rallier du Baty

The plant is edible, containing high levels of potassium. Its leaves contain a Vitamin C-rich oil, a fact which, in the days of sailing ships, made it very attractive to British sailors suffering from scurvy, hence the species name, which means "against scurvy" in Latin. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 562 pixelsFull resolution (2683 × 1886 pixel, file size: 489 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) fr: Chou de Kerguelen (Pringlea antiscorbutica) vieil individu sur la péninsule Rallier du Batyen: Kerguelens cabbage (Pringlea antiscorbutica) Old plant on Rallier du Baty... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 562 pixelsFull resolution (2683 × 1886 pixel, file size: 489 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) fr: Chou de Kerguelen (Pringlea antiscorbutica) vieil individu sur la péninsule Rallier du Batyen: Kerguelens cabbage (Pringlea antiscorbutica) Old plant on Rallier du Baty... The Rallier du Baty peninsula An old Kerguelen cabbage on the péninsule Rallier du Baty The Péninsule Rallier du Baty is a peninsula of Grand Terre, the main island of the Kerguelen archipelago. ... General Name, Symbol, Number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 39. ... Scurvy (N.Lat. ...

The micropezid fly species Calycopteryx mosleyi is associated with this plant. Both are endangered by rabbits which feed on the cabbage. Diversity 54 genera, 5 subfamilies Type genus Micropeza Meigen, 1803 Subfamilies Calobatinae Calycopteryginae Eurybatinae Micropezinae Taeniapterinae The Micropezidae are a moderate-sized family of acalyptrate muscoid flies in the insect order Diptera, comprising about 500 species in about 50 genera and 5 subfamilies worldwide, (except New Zealand and Macquarie Island... A European Rabbit in Australia In Australia, rabbits are the most serious mammalian pests, an invasive species, and are responsible for the extinction of many native animals such as the western quoll. ...

External links

• http://www.btinternet.com/~sa_sa/kerguelen/kerguelen_cabbage.html
• http://www.anbg.gov.au/anbg/sub-antarctic/article3.html