Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) is an edible green plant in the cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus Brassica) whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Broccoli is classified in the Italica cultivar group of the species Brassica oleracea. Broccoli has large flower heads, or florets, usually dark green, arranged in a tree-like structure branching out from a thick stalk, which is usually light green. Leaves surround the mass of flower heads. Broccoli resembles cauliflower, a different but closely related cultivar group of the same Brassica species.

It can be eaten either raw or cooked. Broccoli is a particularly rich source of vitamin C and vitamin K. Contents of its characteristic sulfur-containing glucosinolate compounds, isothiocyanates and sulforaphane, are diminished by boiling but are better preserved by steaming, microwaving or stir-frying.

Rapini, sometimes called "broccoli rabe", is a distinct species from broccoli, forming similar but smaller heads, and is actually a type of turnip (Brassica rapa).

Taxonomy

Brassica oleracea var. italica was described in 1794 by Joseph Jakob von Plenck in Icones Plantarum Medicinalium 6:29, t. 534. Like all the other brassicas, broccoli was developed from the wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. oleracea), also called colewort or field cabbage.

Etymology

The word broccoli, first used in the 17th century, comes from the Italian plural of ', which means "the flowering crest of a cabbage", and is the diminutive form of brocco, meaning "small nail" or "sprout".

History

Broccoli resulted from the breeding of landrace Brassica crops in the northern Mediterranean starting in about the sixth century BCE. Broccoli has its origins in primitive cultivars grown in the Roman Empire and was most likely improved via artificial selection in the southern Italian Peninsula or in Sicily. Broccoli was spread to northern Europe by the 18th century and brought to North America in the 19th century by Italian immigrants.

Broccoli inflorescence grows at the end of a central, edible stem and is dark green. Purple cauliflower or violet cauliflower is a type of broccoli grown in Europe and North America. It has a head shaped like cauliflower but consists of many tiny flower buds. Sometimes, but not always, it has a purple cast to the tips of the flower buds. Purple cauliflower may also be white, red, green, or other colors.

Beneforté is a variety of broccoli containing 2–3 times more glucoraphanin and produced by crossing broccoli with a wild Brassica variety, Brassica oleracea var villosa.

Other cultivar groups of Brassica oleracea

Other cultivar groups of Brassica oleracea include cabbage (Capitata Group), cauliflower and Romanesco broccoli (Botrytis Group), kale (Acephala Group), collard (Viridis Group), kohlrabi (Gongylodes Group), Brussels sprouts (Gemmifera Group), and kai-lan (Alboglabra Group). As these groups are the same species, they readily hybridize: for example, broccolini or "Tenderstem broccoli" is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan. Broccoli cultivars form the genetic basis of the "tropical cauliflowers" commonly grown in South and Southeastern Asia, although they produce a more cauliflower-like head in warmer conditions. When the cluster of flowers (also referred to as a "head") appears in the plant center, the cluster is generally green.

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The growth of the broccoli head is temperature dependent, with higher temperatures leading to poorer head formation, while growth slows below .

Broccoli is harvested before the flowers on the head bloom in a yellow color.

Production

In 2024, world production of broccoli (combined with cauliflowers) was 27 million tonnes, with China and India together accounting for 73% of the total (table). Secondary producers, each having about one million tonnes or less annually, were the United States, Mexico, and Spain.

In the United States, broccoli is grown year-round in California, which produced 92% of the crop nationally for sales as fresh produce in 2024.

Nutrition

Raw broccoli is 89% water, 7% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). A reference amount of raw broccoli provides of food energy and is a rich source (20% or higher of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin C (99% DV) and vitamin K (85% DV) (table). Raw broccoli also contains moderate amounts (10–19% DV) of several B vitamins and the dietary mineral potassium, whereas other micronutrients are low in content (less than 10% DV). Broccoli contains the dietary provitamin A carotenoid, beta-carotene.

Cooking

Boiling substantially reduces the levels of broccoli glucosinolates, while other cooking methods, such as steaming, microwaving, and stir-frying, have no significant effect on glucosinolate levels. Preliminary research indicates that genetic inheritance through the gene TAS2R38 may be responsible in part for bitter taste perception in broccoli.

Pests

The larvae of Pieris rapae, also known as the "small white" butterfly, are a common pest in broccoli and were mostly introduced accidentally to North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Additional pests common to broccoli production include:

  • Aphids
  • Cabbage looper
  • Cabbage webworm
  • Cross-striped cabbageworm
  • Diamondback moth
  • Cabbage maggot
  • Harlequin cabbage bug

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NRCSAZ02078 - Arizona (439)(NRCS Photo Gallery).jpg|Furrow flood irrigation on a field of broccoli raised for seed in Yuma, Arizona.

Broccoli flowers 2525385935 e13d4de4c4 b.jpg|Broccoli in flower

Cavolfiore Violetto di Sicilia.jpg|Sicilian purple broccoli

巨無霸青花菜 20191121171730.jpg|Broccoli "giant", whose flowering head and stalk can reach a kilo.

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See also

  • Broccolini
  • Epicuticular wax
  • George H. W. Bush broccoli comments; the 41st U.S. president famously disliked the vegetable
  • Microgreen

References

  • PROTAbase on Brassica oleracea (cauliflower and broccoli) (archived 10 February 2016)
  • List of North American broccoli cultivars, USDA/ARS Vegetable Laboratory