Eruca vesicaria | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Brassicales |
Family: | Brassicaceae |
Genus: | Eruca |
Species: | E. vesicaria |
Binomial name | |
Eruca vesicaria | |
Synonyms | |
Arugula |
Rocket, eruca, [1] or arugula (Eruca vesicaria; syns. Eruca sativa Mill., E. vesicaria subsp. sativa (Miller) Thell., Brassica eruca L.) is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used as a leaf vegetable for its fresh, tart, bitter, and peppery flavor. Its other common names include garden rocket [2] (in Great Britain, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, and New Zealand), [1] as well as colewort, roquette, ruchetta, rucola, rucoli, and rugula.
Native to the Mediterranean region, E. vesicaria is widely popular as a salad vegetable. [3] [1] [4]
Eruca vesicaria is an annual plant [5] growing to 20 to 100 cm (8 to 40 in) in height. The pinnate leaves are deeply lobed with four to ten, small, lateral lobes and a large terminal lobe. The flowers are 2 to 4 cm (3⁄4 to 1+1⁄2 in) in diameter, arranged in a corymb, with the typical Brassicaceae flower structure. The petals are creamy white with purple veins, and the stamens are yellow. The fruit is a siliqua (pod) 12 to 25 mm (1⁄2 to 1 in) long with an apical beak, containing several seeds. The species has a chromosome number of 2n = 22. [1] [2] [6]
Sativa , from one of the plant's synonyms, is from satum, meaning "to sow", indicating that the seeds of the plant were sown in gardens. Eruca sativa differs from E. vesicaria in having early deciduous sepals. [2] Some botanists consider it a subspecies of E. vesicaria as E. v. subsp. sativa. [2] Still others do not differentiate between the two. [7]
The English common name rocket derives from French roquette, itself a borrowing from Italian ruchetta, a diminutive of ruca, from the Latin word eruca. [8]
"Arugula" ( /əˈruːɡələ/ ), the common name now widespread in the United States and Canada, entered American English from a nonstandard dialect of Italian. The standard Italian word is "rucola". The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first known appearance of "arugula" in American English to a 1960 article in The New York Times by food editor and prolific cookbook writer, Craig Claiborne. [9]
According to the Plant List, the following are synonyms: [10]
Rocket is sometimes conflated with Diplotaxis tenuifolia , known as 'perennial wall rocket', another plant of the family Brassicaceae that is used in the same manner.
Species of Barbarea may be known as 'yellow rocket'.
Brassica oleracea may also be known by the common name 'colewort'.
E. vesicaria is native to southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. As an invasive species arugula is widespread but scattered though is prolific and noxious in the Sonora desert of Arizona and California. [11]
The species typically grows on dry, disturbed ground. It is a source of food for the larvae of some moth species, [1] [2] including the garden carpet. Its roots are susceptible to nematode infestation. [12]
Grown as an edible and popular herb in Italy since Roman times, arugula was mentioned by various ancient Roman classical authors as an aphrodisiac, [13] [14] most famously in a poem long ascribed to the famous first century Roman poet Virgil, Moretum , which contains the line: "et Venerem revocans eruca morantem" ("and the rocket, which revives drowsy Venus [sexual desire]"), [15] and in the Ars Amatoria of Ovid. [16] Some writers assert that for this reason, during the Middle Ages, growing arugula was forbidden in monasteries. [17] Nonetheless, the plant was listed in a decree by Charlemagne as among the 802 pot herbs suitable for growing in gardens. [18] Gillian Riley, author of the Oxford Companion to Italian Food, states that because of its reputation as a sexual stimulant, it was "prudently mixed with lettuce, which was the opposite" (i.e., calming or even soporific). Riley continues, "nowadays rocket is enjoyed innocently in mixed salads, to which it adds a pleasing pungency", [19] although Norman Douglas insisted, "Salad rocket is certainly a stimulant". [20]
The plant was traditionally collected in the wild or grown in home gardens along with herbs, such as parsley and basil. Arugula now is grown commercially in many places and is available in supermarkets and farmers markets worldwide. It now is naturalized as a wild plant away from its native range in temperate regions around the world, including northern Europe and North America. [21] [1] In India, the mature seeds are known as "Gargeer". This is the same name used in Arabic, جِرْجِير (jirjīr), but used in Arab countries this name is used for the fresh leaves of the plant.
Mild frost conditions hinder the plant's growth and turn the green leaves to red. [22] [23] If the weather is warm plants mature to full size in 40 to 50 days. [24]
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Energy | 105 kJ (25 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3.6 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sugars | 2.0 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dietary fiber | 1.6 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0.6 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2.6 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Water | 91.7 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [25] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [26] |
Raw arugula is 92% water, 4% carbohydrates, 2.5% protein, and contains a negligible amount of fat. A 100 g (3+1⁄2 oz) reference serving provides only 105 kJ (25 kcal) of food energy. It is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of folate and vitamin K. Arugula is also a good source (10–19% of DV) of vitamin A, vitamin C, and the dietary minerals calcium, magnesium, and manganese. It also includes potassium. [27]
Arugula is generally not allergenic.
The leaves, flowers, young seed pods, and mature seeds are all edible.
Since Roman times in Italy, raw arugula has been added to salads. It often is added as a garnish to a pizza at the end of or just after baking. In Apulia, in southern Italy, arugula is cooked to make the pasta dish "cavatiéddi", "in which large amounts of coarsely chopped rocket are added to pasta seasoned with a homemade reduced tomato sauce and pecorino", [28] as well as in many recipes in which it is chopped and added to sauces and cooked dishes or in a sauce (made by frying it in olive oil with garlic). It also is used as a condiment for cold meats and fish. [28] Throughout Italy, it is used as a salad with tomatoes and with burrata, bocconcini, buffalo, or mozzarella cheese. In Rome, "rucola" is used in "straccetti", a dish of thin slices of beef with raw arugula and Parmesan cheese. [29]
In Turkey, similarly, the plant is eaten raw as a side dish or salad with fish or is served with a sauce of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. [30]
In Slovenia, arugula often is combined with boiled potatoes [31] or used in a soup. [32]
In West Asia, Pakistan, and northern India, Eruca seeds are pressed to make taramira oil, used in pickling and (after aging to remove acridity) as a salad or cooking oil. [33] The seed cake is also used as animal feed. [34]
From about the 1990s [35] arugula has become more popular in America, especially in trendier restaurants and in urban areas. [36]
Brassicaceae or Cruciferae is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leaves are simple, lack stipules, and appear alternately on stems or in rosettes. The inflorescences are terminal and lack bracts. The flowers have four free sepals, four free alternating petals, two shorter free stamens and four longer free stamens. The fruit has seeds in rows, divided by a thin wall.
Kohlrabi, also called German turnip or turnip cabbage, is a biennial vegetable, a low, stout cultivar of wild cabbage. It is a cultivar of the same species as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, and gai lan.
Brassica is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, mustard plants, or simply brassicas. Crops from this genus are sometimes called cole crops—derived from the Latin caulis, denoting the stem or stalk of a plant.
Cauliflower is one of several vegetables cultivated from the species Brassica oleracea in the genus Brassica, which is in the Brassicaceae family.
Erucic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid, denoted 22:1ω9. It has the chemical formula: CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)11CO2H. It is prevalent in wallflower seed and other plants in the family Brassicaceae, with a reported content of 20 to 54% in high erucic acid rapeseed oil and 42% in mustard oil. Erucic acid is also known as cis-13-docosenoic acid and the trans isomer is known as brassidic acid.
Hesperis matronalis is an herbaceous flowering plant species in the family Brassicaceae. It has numerous common names, including dame's rocket, damask-violet, dame's-violet, dames-wort, dame's gilliflower, night-scented gilliflower, queen's gilliflower, rogue's gilliflower, sweet rocket, and mother-of-the-evening.
A rocket is a vehicle, missile, or aircraft propelled by an engine that creates thrust from a high speed exhaust jet made exclusively from propellant.
Malva is a genus of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae. It is one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Europe.
Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad greens.
Brassica juncea, commonly brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, Korean green mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard, is a species of mustard plant.
Moricandia is a genus of plants of the family Brassicaceae. This genus is mainly distributed in North Africa, the Middle East, and Southern Europe. It is associated with arid and semi-arid environments. Flowers of this genus are actinomorphic-dissymmetrical and mostly lilac in color, although they vary from white to purple depending on the species and climatic conditions. Some species show extreme phenotypic plasticity for flower size, shape, and color. The fruits are two-valved dehiscent siliques with one or two sets of seeds per valve.
Sativa, sativus, and sativum are Latin botanical adjectives meaning cultivated. It is often associated botanically with plants that promote good health and used to designate certain seed-grown domestic crops.
Diplotaxis (wall-rocket) is a genus of 32–34 species of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae (Cruciferae), native to Europe, the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia; the species diversity is highest in the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa and the Cape Verde archipelago. They are annual or perennial plants, either herbaceous or sub-shrubby with a woody base. The flowers are yellow in most species, but are white in Diplotaxis erucoides and violet in Diplotaxis acris. Some species, such as Diplotaxis tenuifolia and Diplotaxis muralis, have been historically used as leaf vegetables, are similar to Eruca sativa in their peppery flavour, and are used interchangeably with it.
Cruciferous vegetables are vegetables of the family Brassicaceae with many genera, species, and cultivars being raised for food production such as cauliflower, cabbage, kale, garden cress, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard plant and similar green leaf vegetables. The family takes its alternative name from the shape of their flowers, whose four petals resemble a cross.
Edible flowers are flowers that can be consumed safely. Flowers may be eaten as vegetables as a main part of a meal, or may be used as herbs. Flowers are part of many regional cuisines, including Asian, European, and Middle Eastern cuisines.
Rhamphospermum arvense, the charlock mustard, field mustard, wild mustard, or just charlock, is an annual or winter annual plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is found in the fields of North Africa, Asia, Europe, and some other areas where it has been transported and naturalized. Pieris rapae, the small white butterfly, and Pieris napi, the green veined white butterfly, are significant consumers of charlock during their larval stages.
Eruca is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, which includes the leaf vegetable known as arugula or rocket.
Diplotaxis tenuifolia is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name perennial wall-rocket. It is native to Europe and western Asia, where it grows on disturbed ground and roadsides, and it can now be found throughout much of the temperate world where it has naturalized. In recent years it has increasingly been cultivated to produce salad leaves, which are marketed as wild rocket in Britain or arugula in the US. It is easily confused with garden rocket, which has similar uses.
Taramira oil or jamba oil, is a seed oil, pressed from the seeds of the arugula. Because the plant is highly drought resistant, the oil is popular in regions of poor rainfall, particularly in West Asia, Pakistan and Northern India.
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