Eruca sativa

{{Short description|Edible annual plant}} {{About|the edible annual plant|another species cultivated as rocket or arugula|Diplotaxis tenuifolia|the Argentine rock band|Eruca Sativa|the pastry|Rugelach}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Speciesbox | image = Eruca sativa sl11.jpg | genus = Eruca | species = sativa | authority = Mill. | synonyms = *''Brassica eruca'' L. * ''Brassica erucoides'' Hornem. * ''Brassica hispida'' Ten. * ''Brassica lativalvis'' Boiss. * ''Brassica sativa'' (Mill.) Y.Z.Zhao * ''Brassica turgida'' Pers. * ''Brassica uechtritziana'' Janka * ''Crucifera eruca'' E.H.L.Krause * ''Eruca cappadocica'' Reut. ex Boiss. * ''Eruca cappadocica'' Reut. * ''Eruca cappadocica'' var. ''eriocarpa'' Boiss. * ''Eruca eruca'' (L.) Asch. & Graebn. * ''Eruca foetida'' Moench * ''Eruca glabrescens'' Jord. * ''Eruca glabrescens'' var. ''valverdensis'' Pit. * ''Eruca grandiflora'' Cav. * ''Eruca hispida'' (Ten.) DC. * ''Eruca lativalvis'' Boiss. * ''Eruca longirostris'' var. ''leptocarpa'' Pau * ''Eruca longistyla'' Pomel * ''Eruca oleracea'' J.St.-Hil. * ''Eruca orthosepala'' (Lange) Lange * ''Eruca permixta'' Jord. * ''Eruca ruchetta'' Spach * ''Eruca sativa'' var. ''dasycarpa'' Rouy & Foucaud * ''Eruca sativa'' var. ''eriocarpa'' (Boiss.) Post * ''Eruca sativa'' proles ''glabrescens'' (Jord.) Rouy & Foucaud * ''Eruca sativa'' var. ''hispida'' Rouy & Foucaud * ''Eruca sativa'' var. ''hispida'' (Ten.) J.Groves * ''Eruca sativa'' subsp. ''lativalvis'' (Boiss.) Greuter & Burdet * ''Eruca sativa'' proles ''permixta'' (Jord.) Rouy & Foucaud * ''Eruca sativa'' var. ''polysperma'' Rouy * ''Eruca stenocarpa'' var. ''major'' Rouy * ''Eruca subbipinnata'' Chiov. * ''Eruca sylvestris'' Bubani * ''Eruca vesicaria'' var. ''cappadocica'' (Reut. ex Boiss.) P.Fourn. * ''Eruca vesicaria'' subvar. ''hispida'' (Ten.) Thell. * ''Eruca vesicaria'' subsp. ''lativalvis'' (Boiss.) Thell. * ''Eruca vesicaria'' subvar. ''oleracea'' (J.St.-Hil.) Emb. & Maire * ''Eruca vesicaria'' var. ''orthosepala'' Lange * ''Eruca vesicaria'' var. ''sativa'' (Mill.) Thell. * ''Eruca vesicaria'' subsp. ''sativa'' (Mill.) Thell. * ''Euzomum hispidum'' Link * ''Euzomum sativum'' Link * ''Raphanus eruca'' (L.) Crantz * ''Sinapis eruca'' (L.) Vest * ''Sinapis exotica'' DC. | synonyms_ref = <ref name="Kew" /> }}

'''''Eruca sativa''''' (also known as '''rocket''', '''eruca''',<ref name="blamey">Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. {{ISBN|0-340-40170-2}}.</ref> or '''arugula''') is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae. Other common names include '''salad rocket''',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/rocket/grow-your-own|title=How to grow Rocket|website=Royal Horticultural Society|access-date=18 January 2025}}</ref> '''garden rocket''',<ref name="fnwe">Flora of NW Europe: [http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/BIS/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=2395 ''Eruca vesicaria''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014021510/http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/BIS/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=2395|date=14 October 2007}}</ref><ref name="blamey" /> '''colewort''', '''roquette''', '''ruchetta''', '''rucola''', '''rucoli''', and '''rugula'''.

''Eruca sativa'' is native to the Mediterranean and Asia. Its wide availability and sharp flavor make it widely popular as a leaf vegetable, including in salads.

==Description== ''Eruca sativa'' is an annual plant<ref name="kole-relatives">{{cite book |last1=Kole |first1=Chittaranjan |title=Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources: Oilseeds |date=21 February 2011 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-642-14871-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zWp--NMP3hAC&dq=Eruca+vesicaria&pg=PA151 |access-date=25 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref> growing to {{convert|20|to|100|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} in height. The pinnate leaves are deeply lobed with four to ten small, lateral lobes and a large terminal lobe. The flowers are {{convert|2|to|4|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} 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) {{convert|12|to|25|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long with an apical beak, containing several seeds. The species has a chromosome number of 2n = 22.<ref name="blamey" /><ref name="fnwe" /><ref name="rhs">Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan {{ISBN|0-333-47494-5}}.</ref>

{{gallery | mode = packed | Eruca sativa 1 IP0206101.jpg | Young plants | Rocket Salad, Arugula, Roquette, Rucola, Rugula (Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa).jpg | Seed pods | Eruca February 2008-1.jpg | Flower }}

==Taxonomy== Some botanists consider ''E. sativa'' a subspecies of ''Eruca vesicaria''.<ref name="fnwe" /> However, they are different in many morphological aspects, such as sepal persistence, silique shape, and habit. Most importantly, they do not hybridize freely with each other as there is partial reproductive isolation between them.<ref>{{cite conference |last=Sobrino Vesperinas |first=Eduardo |date=November 1995 |editor-last=Aibar Lete |editor-first=Joaquín |title=Diferencias morfológicas e interfertilidad entre las especies arvenses ''Eruca vesicaria'' (L) Cav. y ''E. sativa'' Miller |url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=564286 |conference=Congreso 1995, Sociedad Española de Malherbología |language=es |location=Huesca |publisher=Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses |pages=153–156 |isbn=84-8127-040-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909115629/https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=564286 |archive-date=9 September 2024 |access-date=13 July 2024}}</ref> The ''Plants of the World Online'' database has accepted ''Eruca sativa'' as a distinct species.<ref name="Kew">{{Cite web |title=''Eruca sativa'' Mill. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1110374-2 |access-date=11 March 2025 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Kew Science}}</ref>

===Etymology=== The species name ''sativa'' is from Latin supine ''satum'', meaning "sown, planted", indicating that the plant is cultivated in gardens.

The English common name ''rocket'' derives from French ''roquette'', itself a borrowing from Italian ''ruchetta'', a diminutive of ''ruca'', from the Latin word ''eruca''.<ref name="oed">''Oxford English Dictionary''</ref>

"Arugula" ({{IPAc-en|ə|'|r|u:|ɡ|ə|l|ə|}}), 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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Claiborne |first=Craig |date=24 May 1960 |title=A Green by Any Name: Pungent Ingredient Is Cause of Confusion for City Shopper; Arugula – or Rocket – Is the Secret of Experts' Salads |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/05/24/archives/food-news-a-green-by-any-name-pungent-ingredient-is-cause-of.html |work=The New York Times |page=33}}</ref>

====Similarly named plants==== 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'.

==Distribution and habitat== ''Eruca sativa'' is native to parts of the Mediterranean and Asia,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bell |first=Luke |last2=Wagstaff |first2=Carol |date=30 March 2019 |title=Rocket science: A review of phytochemical & health-related research in Eruca & Diplotaxis species |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590157518300026 |journal=Food Chemistry: X |volume=1 |article-number=100002 |doi=10.1016/j.fochx.2018.100002 |issn=2590-1575|pmc=6690419 }}</ref> including southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

==Ecology== The species typically grows on dry, disturbed ground. It is a source of food for the larvae of some moth species,<ref name="blamey" /><ref name="fnwe" /> including the garden carpet. Its roots are susceptible to nematode infestation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smartgardener.com/plants/599-arugula-arugula/guide/pests/771-nematodes|title=Arugula: Arugula|work=smartgardener.com}}</ref>

As an invasive species, ''Eruca sativa'' is widespread and scattered, but is prolific and noxious in the Sonoran desert of Arizona and California.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eruca vesicaria (garden-rocket): Go Botany |url=https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/eruca/vesicaria/#:~:text=Facts,is%20cultivated%20widely%20in%20gardens. |access-date=18 September 2023 |website=gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org}}</ref>

==Cultivation== Grown as an edible and popular herb in Italy since Roman times, rocket was mentioned by various ancient Roman authors as an aphrodisiac,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20307213_6,00.html |title=7 Foods for Better Sex |last=Upton |first=Julie, RD |work=Health.com |access-date=5 July 2010 |archive-date=10 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410045139/http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20307213_6,00.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Wright, Clifford A.|title=Mediterranean Vegetables|publisher=Harvard Common Press|year=2001|isbn=978-1-55832-196-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/mediterraneanveg0000wrig/page/27 27]|url=https://archive.org/details/mediterraneanveg0000wrig|url-access=registration}}</ref> for example in a poem long ascribed to the first-century poet Virgil, ''Moretum'', which contains the line: "''et Venerem revocans eruca morantem''" ("and the rocket, which revives drowsy Venus [sexual desire]"),<ref>Virgil, 102 ''Moretum'': 85. Joseph J. Mooney in his 1916 English translation, [http://virgil.org/appendix/moretum.htm "The Salad"], calls it "colewort" and notes, "The Latin "moretum", which is usually translated "salad", would be better called "cheese and garlic paste", i.e., pesto. See ''The Minor Poems of Vergil: Comprising the Culex, Dirae, Lydia, Moretum, Copa, Priapeia, and Catalepton'' (Birmingham: Cornish Brothers, 1916), scanned as part of [http://www.virgil.org/appendix/ ''Appendix Vergiliana: The Minor Poems of Virgil in English Translation''] on the website Virgil.org.</ref> and in the Ars Amatoria of Ovid.<ref>Ovid, ''The Love Poems'' (Oxford 2008) p. 119</ref> Some writers assert that for this reason, during the Middle Ages, growing rocket was forbidden in monasteries.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=90Dk0n6OeygC&dq=%22moderatus+columella%22+&pg=PA41 Padulosi, Pignone D., Editors, ''Rocket: A Mediterranean Crop for the World'' (International Plant Genetic Resources Institute,1997), p. 41].</ref> Nonetheless, the plant was listed in a decree by Charlemagne as among the 63 pot herbs suitable for growing in gardens.<ref>Helen Morgenthau Fox, ''Gardening With Herbs for Flavor and Fragrance'' (1933, reprinted New York: Dover, 1970), p. 45. See also [https://books.google.com/books?id=j9jU1aV8xDsC&dq=capitularies+of+charlemagne+gardens&pg=PA14 Denise Le Dantec and Jean-Pierre Le Dantec, ''Reading the French Garden: Story and History'' (MIT Press, 1998), p. 14.]</ref> 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".<ref>Gillian Riley, ''The Oxford Companion to Italian Food'' (Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 446.</ref>

The plant was traditionally collected in the wild or grown in home gardens along with herbs, such as parsley and basil. Rocket 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.<ref name="usda">USDA Plants Profile: [https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ERVES ''Eruca vesicaria'' subsp. ''sativa'']</ref><ref name="blamey" /> In India, the mature seeds are known as "Gargeer". This is the same name used in Arabic, {{lang|ar|جِرْجِير}} (''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|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.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Secret of the Local Red Arugula|url=http://www.princetoneats.org/the-secret-of-the-local-red-arugula|access-date=24 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202151039/http://www.princetoneats.org/the-secret-of-the-local-red-arugula|archive-date=2 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Minnesota Spring|url=http://www.northlandpress.com/MNspring5713.html|access-date=24 May 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630010530/http://www.northlandpress.com/MNspring5713.html|archive-date=30 June 2013}}</ref> If the weather is warm plants mature to full size in 40 to 50 days.<ref>{{cite web |title=Eruca vesicaria (Arugula, Eruca, Garden Rocket, Gharghir, Mediterranean Salad, Rocket, Rocket Salad, Roquette, Ruchtetta, Rucola, Rucoli, Rugula, Rugulas, Salad Rocket) |url=https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/eruca-vesicaria/ |website=North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox |publisher=North Carolina State University |access-date=30 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

{{nutritional value | name = Rocket, raw | water = 91.7 g | kJ = 105 | protein = 2.6 g | fat = 0.6 g | carbs = 3.6 g | fibre = 1.6 g | sugars = 2.0 g | calcium_mg = 160 | iron_mg = 1.46 | magnesium_mg = 47 | phosphorus_mg = 52 | potassium_mg = 369 | sodium_mg = 27 | zinc_mg = 0.47 | copper_mg = 0.076 | manganese_mg = 0.321 | vitC_mg = 15 | thiamin_mg = 0.044 | riboflavin_mg = 0.086 | niacin_mg = 0.305 | vitB6_mg = 0.073 | folate_ug = 97 | vitA_ug = 119 | vitA_iu = 2373 | betacarotene_ug = 1424 | lutein_ug = 3555 | vitE_mg = 0.43 | vitK_ug = 108.6 | source_usda = 1 | note = [https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/169387/nutrients Full Link to USDA database entry] }}

==Uses== ===Nutrition=== Raw rocket is 92% water, 4% carbohydrates, 2.5% protein, and contains a negligible amount of fat. A {{convert|100|g|oz|abbr=on|adj=on|frac=2}} reference serving provides only {{convert|105|kJ|kcal|abbr=on}} of food energy. It is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of folate and vitamin K. Rocket 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.<ref>NutritionData.com, [http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20mn.html Arugula, Raw]</ref>

Rocket is generally not allergenic.

===Culinary=== The leaves, flowers, young seed pods, and mature seeds are all edible.

Since Roman times in Italy, raw rocket 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, rocket 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",<ref name="Reilly, p. 446">Reilly, ''The Oxford Companion to Italian Food'', p. 446</ref> 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.<ref name="Reilly, p. 446" /> 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 rocket and Parmesan cheese.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Beef Strips with Rocket – Straccetti con la Rucola|url=https://thefoodellers.com/en/beef-strips-with-rocket-recipe|access-date=17 May 2021|website=thefoodellers.com|language=en-GB}}</ref> Arugula is also used in the rucola style of amaro produced in southern Campania in areas like Amalfi coast, Cilento coast and Ischia; examples include See the Elephant Amaro.

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.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Oktay Usta'dan Roka Salatası Resimli Tarifi|url = http://oktayusta.samanyoluhaber.com/oktay-ustadan-roka-salatasi-tarifi/|access-date = 16 April 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150624025604/http://oktayusta.samanyoluhaber.com/oktay-ustadan-roka-salatasi-tarifi/|archive-date = 24 June 2015}}</ref>

In Slovenia, rocket often is combined with boiled potatoes<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnevnik.si/tiskane_izdaje/nedeljski/1042295643|title=Solata s krompirjem in rukolo|website=dnevnik.si}}</ref> or used in a soup.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zurnal24.si/recepti/krompirjeva-juha-z-rukolo-208924/clanek|title=Krompirjeva juha z rukolo|work=zurnal24}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6jrlyOPfr24C&q=taramira+oil&pg=PA295 | title=Plant Resources of Tropical Africa | volume=2 | chapter=Vegetables | page=295 | editor=G.J.H. Grubben and O.A. Denton | isbn=90-5782-147-8 | year=2004 | publisher=PROTA }}</ref> The seed cake is also used as animal feed.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Das|first=Srinabas |author2=Kumar Tyagi |author3=Harjit Kaur|title=Evaluation of taramira oil-cake and reduction of its glucosinolate content by different treatments|journal=Indian Journal of Animal Sciences|year=2004|volume=73|issue=6|pages=687–691|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288705407 }}</ref>

{{gallery | mode = packed | Rocket Salad.jpg | Salad bowl of rocket leaves | Chorizo, roasted capsicum, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and rocket salad.jpg | Arugula in a savory salad }}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} {{Cookbook|Arugula}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20200925014945/http://www.intowner.com/2012/08/11/the-%E2%80%9Clascivious%E2%80%9D-leaf-the-allure-of-arugula/ Joel Denker, "The 'Lascivious' Leaf: The Allure of Arugula", ''Food in the 'Hood'' (published 11 August 2012)], in ''The Intowner''. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042326/https://prospect.org/article/arugula-0 Ezra Klein, "Arugula", ''The American Prospect'', 7 October 2008.] * [http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/politics/stories/eating-arugula-has-become-a-political-act John Schwenkler, "Eating arugula has become a political act: Conservative thinker is branded a closet liberal based on the food he eats". ''Earth Matters'', MNN (Mother Nature Network), March 2009.] Mr. Schwenkler's article originally appeared in ''Plenty'' magazine in October 2008. * [http://davidkamp.com/about.php David Kamp, ''The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation'', New York: Clarkson Potter (2006).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218150049/http://davidkamp.com/about.php |date=18 February 2020 }}

Category:Brassicaceae Category:Leaf vegetables Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Plants described in 1753