FAMILY MATTERS
The following is adapted from my book The Ever Curious Gardener: Using a Little Natural Science for a Much Better Garden:
No Idle Gossip
You often hear talk about various plants being related to each other. There’s the sunny-faced members of the Daisy Family, for example, and the Pea Family, all with pods. Cole crops, such as cabbage, broccoli, and kale, are close kin, all in the same genus and species. What characteristics link these groups of plants as relatives?
Yes, goldenrod is in the Daisy Family!
Before you blurt out that all daisies have petal-rimmed flowers typified by sunflower and aster, picture the flowers of goldenrod, also a member of this family. And although all cole crops have waxy, bluish green leaves, just look how the plants vary in form. We eat the stalk of kohlrabi, the leaves of cabbage, and the flower buds of broccoli. Read more
