Brassica cretica is found clinging to the cliffs above the coast. Its leaves are waxy grey green below and shiny above and the flowers typical of the mustards. It is described by the botanical epithet, suffructicose, meaning a heraceous plant growiing from a woody base.

It is the wild relative and probable progenitor of many domesticated brassicas, including cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli and oilseed rape.  There are three subspecies: cretica, found only in Crete, reflecting its prolonged geographical isolation; Iaconica which grows on the coast of Peloponnese and Mani and Aeggaea, found growing on many Aegean and Ionia islands and S.W. Anatolia. These variations have aroused the interest of geneticists1, whose studies may help to improve commercial food production and in particular, to understand how crops may respond to global warming.