Eruca sativa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Brassicales
Family:	Brassicaceae
Genus:	Eruca
Species:	E. sativa
Binomial name
Eruca sativa Mill.

Eruca sativa (syn. E. vesicaria subsp. sativa (Miller) Thell., Brassica eruca L.), also known as rocket or arugula, is an edible annual plant. It is a species of Eruca native to the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal east to Lebanon and Turkey.^[1][2] It is closely related to Eruca vesicaria and included by some botanists in that either as a subspecies E. vesicaria subsp. sativa^[3] or not distinguished at all;^[4] it can be distinguished from E. vesicaria by its early deciduous sepals.^[3]

Seed pods

It is an annual plant growing to 20–100 cm tall. The leaves are deeply pinnately lobed with four to ten small lateral lobes and a large terminal lobe. The flowers are 2–4 cm diameter, arranged in a corymb, with the typical Brassicaceae flower structure; the petals are creamy white with purple veins, and the stamens yellow; the sepals are shed soon after the flower opens. The fruit is a siliqua (pod) 12–35 mm long with an apical beak, and containing several seeds (which are edible). The species has a chromosome number of 2n = 22.^[2][3][5]

Vernacular names include Garden Rocket,^[3] Rocket (British English/Australian & New Zealand English),^[2] Eruca,^[2] Rocketsalad,^[6] Arugula (American English), Rucola (Italian)^[7][8], Rukola (Macedonian, Serbian, Slovenian, Polish, Danish), Rugola (Italian), Rauke (German), Roquette (French), Rokka (Greek), Roka (Turkish), Ruca (Catalan), Beharki (Basque), Voinicică (Romanian) Rúcula, Oruga and Arúgula (Spanish), Rúcula(Portuguese), Jarjeer (Arabic), Ruchetta (Italian)^[8], Rughetta (Italian) and Borsmustár (Hungarian). The term arugula (variations of Italian dialects) is used by the Italian diaspora in Australia and North America and from there picked up as a loan word to a varying degree in American and Australian English, particularly in culinary usage. The names ultimately all derive from the Latin word eruca, a name for an unspecified plant in the family Brassicaceae, probably a type of cabbage.^[7]

[edit] Ecology

It typically grows on dry, disturbed ground.^[2][3]

The leaves are used as a food by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Garden Carpet.

[edit] Cultivation and uses

A row of Eruca sativa planted in a vegetable bed

It is used as a leaf vegetable, which looks like a longer leaved and open lettuce. It is rich in vitamin C and potassium^[9]. It is frequently cultivated, although domestication cannot be considered complete. It has been grown in the Mediterranean area since Roman times, and is considered an aphrodisiac. Before the 1990s it was usually collected in the wild and was not cultivated on a large scale or researched scientifically. In addition to the leaves, the flowers (often used in salads as an edible garnish), young seed pods and mature seeds are all edible.

Breakfast from a cart in Islamic Cairo: Stewed fava beans, pickled vegetables, fresh bread, and fresh rocket.

It is now cultivated in various places, especially in Veneto, Italy, but is available throughout the world. It is also locally naturalised away from its native range in temperate regions around the world, including northern Europe and North America.^[2][6] In India, the mature seeds are known as Gargeer.

It has a rich, peppery taste, and has an exceptionally strong flavour for a leafy green. It is generally used in salads but also cooked as a vegetable with pasta sauces or meats in northern Italy and in coastal Slovenia (especially Koper/Capodistria), where it is added to the cheese burek. In Italy, rocket is often used in pizzas, added just before the baking period ends or immediately afterwards, so that it won't wilt in the heat.

On the island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples, a digestive alcohol called rucolino is made from the plant, a drink often enjoyed in small quantities following a meal. The liquor is a local specialty enjoyed in the same way as a limoncello or grappa and has a sweet peppery taste that washes down easily.

In Egypt the plant is commonly eaten with stewed fava beans for breakfast, as well as alone and on pizza. Poorer people are often seen selling fresh bunches in popular streets.

Arugula is also commonly combined with the following ingredients: prosciutto, goat cheese, fig, Parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomato and endive.^[10]

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eruca sativa

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Arugula