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Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa
Also called Garden Rocket, Rocket, Rocket Salad, Arugula, Edible Rocket, Salad Rocket, Gaden Eruca
Rocketsalad (Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa, also called arugula or garden rocket) is a fast-growing annual leafy green with a peppery, slightly bitter flavor. The key to growing it well is cool weather and steady moisture, since heat makes it bolt and turns the flavor sharp.
Eruca sativa (also known as arugula, rocket, or eruca,) is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae. Other common names include salad rocket, garden rocket, colewort, roquette, ruchetta, rucola, rucoli, and rugula.
Eruca sativa is native to the Mediterranean and Asia. Its wide availability and sharp flavor (slightly bitter and peppery) make it widely popular as a leaf vegetable, including in salads.
The plant was traditionally collected in the wild or grown in home gardens along with herbs, such as parsley and basil. Arugula is grown commercially and is naturalized as a wild plant outside its native range in temperate regions around the world, including northern Europe and North America.
Arugula prefers full sun, cool temperatures, and moist, fertile soil. Hot weather changes its flavor and stops leaf growth. Seedlings are planted 6 in (15 cm) apart, and plants can self-seed in the garden. Plants mature and can be harvested within 40 to 50 days, with young leaves preferred for flavor.
Eruca sativa is native to parts of the Mediterranean and Asia, including southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eruca sativa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
