broccoli

Brassica oleracea var. italica was described in 1794 by Joseph Jakob von Plenck in Icones Plantarum Medicinalium 6:29, t. 534.{{cite web |last1=Missouri Botanical Garden |title=Brassica oleracea var. italica |url=http://legacy.tropicos.org/Name/4102963 |website=tropicos.org |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden |access-date=18 October 2023}} Like all the other brassicas, broccoli was developed from the wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. oleracea), also called colewort or field cabbage.

The word broccoli, first used in the 17th century, comes from the Italian plural of {{lang|it|broccolo}}, which means "the flowering crest of a cabbage", and is the diminutive form of brocco, meaning "small nail" or "sprout".{{cite dictionary|title=Broccoli|encyclopedia=Online Etymology Dictionary|date=2022|accessdate=18 January 2023|url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=broccoli|archive-date=19 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119002022/https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=broccoli|url-status=live}}

Broccoli resulted from the breeding of landrace Brassica crops in the northern Mediterranean starting in about the sixth century BCE.{{cite journal|last1=Maggioni|first1=Lorenzo|title=Origin and Domestication of Cole Crops (Brassica oleracea L.): Linguistic and Literary Considerations|journal=Economic Botany|volume=64|issue=2|pages=109–123|date=2010|doi=10.1007/s12231-010-9115-2|last2=Bothmer|first2=Roland|last3=Poulsen|first3=Gert|last4=Branca|first4=Ferdinando|hdl=10568/121874 |s2cid=2771884|hdl-access=free}} 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.{{cite book|last=Nonnecke|first=Ib|title=Vegetable Production|publisher=Springer-Verlag New York, LLC|date=November 1989|page=394|isbn=978-0-442-26721-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7i8QJw8BJsC&pg=PA394|access-date=6 October 2020|archive-date=9 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309051152/https://books.google.com/books?id=H7i8QJw8BJsC&pg=PA394|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last1=Stansell|first1=Zachary |last2=Björkman|first2=Thomas|date=1 October 2020|title=From landrace to modern hybrid broccoli: the genomic and morphological domestication syndrome within a diverse B. oleracea collection|journal=Horticulture Research|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|page=159|doi=10.1038/s41438-020-00375-0|pmid=33082966|pmc=7528014|bibcode=2020HorR....7..159S |issn=2052-7276|s2cid=224724369}}{{cite journal|last1=Stansell|first1=Zachary|last2=Hyma|first2=Katie|last3=Fresnedo-Ramírez|first3=Jonathan|last4=Sun|first4=Qi|last5=Mitchell|first5=Sharon|last6=Björkman|first6=Thomas|last7=Hua|first7=Jian|date=1 July 2018|title=Genotyping-by-sequencing of Brassica oleracea vegetables reveals unique phylogenetic patterns, population structure and domestication footprints|journal=Horticulture Research|language=en|volume=5|issue=1|page=38|doi=10.1038/s41438-018-0040-3|pmid=29977574|pmc=6026498|bibcode=2018HorR....5...38S |issn=2052-7276}} Broccoli was spread to northern Europe by the 18th century and brought to North America in the 19th century by Italian immigrants. After the Second World War, the breeding of the United States and Japanese F1 hybrids increased yields, quality, growth speed, and regional adaptation, which produced the cultivars commonly grown since then: 'Premium Crop', 'Packman', and 'Marathon'.

File:Broccoli bloem.jpg

Broccoli is an annual cruciferous plant which can grow up to {{cvt|60|–|90|cm|in|}} tall.{{cite web |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Broccoli, plant |url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/broccoli|date=3 March 2025 |access-date=15 April 2025}}

Broccoli inflorescence grows at the end of a central, edible stem and is dark green. Violet, yellow, or even white heads have been created, but these varieties are rare. The flowers are yellow with four petals.

The growth season for broccoli is 14–15 weeks. Broccoli is collected by hand immediately after the head is fully formed yet the flowers are still in their bud stage. The plant develops numerous small "heads" from the lateral shoots which can be harvested later.

There are three commonly grown types of broccoli. The most familiar is Calabrese broccoli, often referred to simply as "broccoli", named after Calabria in Italy. It has large {{convert|10|to(-)|20|cm|in|0|adj=on}} green heads and thick stalks. It is a cool-season annual crop. Sprouting broccoli (white or purple) has a larger number of heads with many thin stalks.{{cite web|title=Broccoli|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/vegetables/broccoli|website=Royal Horticultural Society|access-date=24 March 2020|archive-date=24 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324233555/https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/vegetables/broccoli|url-status=live}} 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.{{citation|last=Branca|first=Ferdinando|title=Cauliflower and Broccoli|date=2008|work=Vegetables I: Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Chenopodicaceae, and Cucurbitaceae|pages=151–186|editor1-last=Prohens|editor1-first=Jaime|editor2-last=Nuez|editor2-first=Fernando|series=Handbook of Plant Breeding|volume=1|place=New York, NY|publisher=Springer|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-0-387-30443-4_5|isbn=978-0-387-30443-4}}

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.{{cite web|title=British research leads to UK-wide launch of Beneforté broccoli|url=https://quadram.ac.uk/beneforte_uk_wide/|website=Quadram Institute|access-date=24 March 2020|date=25 June 2012}}

{{Main|Brassica oleracea#Cultivar groups}}

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).{{cite book|last1=Dixon|first1=G.R.|date=2007|title=Vegetable brassicas and related crucifers|isbn=978-0-85199-395-9|publisher=CABI|location=Wallingford}} As these groups are the same species, they readily hybridize: for example, broccolini or "Tenderstem broccoli" is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan.{{Cite journal|last1=Stansell|first1=Zachary|last2=Farnham|first2=Mark|last3=Björkman|first3=Thomas|date=2019|title=Complex Horticultural Quality Traits in Broccoli Are Illuminated by Evaluation of the Immortal BolTBDH Mapping Population|journal=Frontiers in Plant Science|language=en|volume=10|page=1104|doi=10.3389/fpls.2019.01104|pmid=31620146|pmc=6759917|issn=1664-462X|doi-access=free}} 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.{{cite journal|last1=Bjorkman|first1=T.|last2=Pearson|first2=K. J.|date=1 January 1998|title=High temperature arrest of inflorescence development in broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica L.)|journal=Journal of Experimental Botany|volume=49|issue=318|pages=101–106|doi=10.1093/jxb/49.318.101|issn=0022-0957|doi-access=free}}

The majority of broccoli cultivars are cool-weather crops that do poorly in hot summer weather. Broccoli grows best when exposed to an average daily temperature between {{convert|18|and|23|°C|°F}}.{{cite web|title=HGIC 1301 Broccoli|last=Smith|first=Powell|date=June 1999|publisher=Clemson University|url=http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/vegetables/crops/hgic1301.html|access-date=25 August 2009|archive-date=26 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426013514/http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/vegetables/crops/hgic1301.html|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last1=Branham|first1=Sandra E.|last2=Stansell|first2=Zachary J.|last3=Couillard|first3=David M.|last4=Farnham|first4=Mark W.|date=1 March 2017|title=Quantitative trait loci mapping of heat tolerance in broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) using genotyping-by-sequencing|journal=Theoretical and Applied Genetics|language=en|volume=130|issue=3|pages=529–538|doi=10.1007/s00122-016-2832-x|pmid=27900399|s2cid=2361874|issn=1432-2242}} When the cluster of flowers, also referred to as a "head" of broccoli, appears in the center of the plant, the cluster is generally green. Garden pruners or shears are used to cut the head about {{convert|1|in|mm|0|order=flip|abbr=on}} from the tip. Broccoli should be harvested before the flowers on the head bloom bright yellow.{{cite encyclopedia|title=Broccoli|last=Liptay|first=Albert|date=1988}} Broccoli cannot be harvested using machines, but rather is hand-harvested.{{Cite web|title=Broccoli production|url=https://extension.psu.edu/broccoli-production|publisher=Pennsylvania State University, Extension Service|date=20 June 2005|access-date=10 February 2021|archive-date=19 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219130239/https://extension.psu.edu/broccoli-production|url-status=live}}

In 2023, global production of broccoli (combined for production reports with cauliflowers) was 26.5 million tonnes, with China and India together accounting for 65% of the world 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 – with 95% of the total crop produced for fresh sales in 2018.{{cite web|title=Broccoli|url=https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/vegetables/broccoli|publisher=Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, US Department of Agriculture|date=1 June 2018|access-date=27 June 2019|archive-date=1 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701120609/https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/vegetables/broccoli|url-status=live}}

{{nutritionalvalue | name=Broccoli, raw

| water=89.3 g

| kJ=141

| protein=2.82 g

| fat=0.37 g

| carbs=6.64 g

| fiber=2.6 g

| sugars=1.7 g

| sodium_mg=33

| calcium_mg=47

| iron_mg=0.73

| magnesium_mg=21

| phosphorus_mg=66

| potassium_mg=316

| zinc_mg=0.41

| manganese_mg=0.21

| vitC_mg=89.2

| thiamin_mg=0.071

| riboflavin_mg=0.117

| niacin_mg=0.639

| pantothenic_mg=0.573

| vitB6_mg=0.175

| folate_ug=63

| choline_mg=19

| vitA_ug=31

| betacarotene_ug=361

| lutein_ug=1403

| vitE_mg=0.78

| vitK_ug=101.6

| source_usda=1

| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/170379/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]

}}

Raw broccoli is 89% water, 7% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). A {{convert|100|g|oz|frac=2|abbr=off|adj=on}} reference amount of raw broccoli provides {{convert|141|kJ|kcal|abbr=off}} 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 carotenoid, beta-carotene.{{cite journal |last1=Farnham |first1=Mark W. |last2=Kopsell |first2=Dean A. |title=Importance of Genotype on Carotenoid and Chlorophyll Levels in Broccoli Heads |journal=HortScience |date=Aug 2009 |volume=44 |issue=5 |page=1248-1253|doi=10.21273/HORTSCI.44.5.1248 |url=https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/44/5/article-p1248.xml|access-date=18 October 2023}} [https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/downloadpdf/journals/hortsci/44/5/article-p1248.xml PDF]

{{See also|List of broccoli dishes}}

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.

The perceived bitterness of cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, results from glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products, particularly isothiocyanates and other sulfur-containing compounds.{{cite journal | last1=Bell | first1=Luke | last2=Oloyede | first2=Omobolanle O. | last3=Lignou | first3=Stella | last4=Wagstaff | first4=Carol | last5=Methven | first5=Lisa | title=Taste and flavor perceptions of glucosinolates, isothiocyanates, and related compounds | journal=Molecular Nutrition and Food Research | volume=62 | issue=18 | date=2018-04-30 | issn=1613-4125 | pmid=29578640 | doi=10.1002/mnfr.201700990 | page=1700990| s2cid=206265098 | url=https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/76654/1/mnfr.201700990.pdf }} Preliminary research indicates that genetic inheritance through the gene TAS2R38 may be responsible in part for bitter taste perception in broccoli.{{cite journal|pmid=24025627|title=Human bitter perception correlates with bitter receptor messenger RNA expression in taste cells|vauthors=Lipchock SV, Mennella JA, Spielman AI, Reed DR|journal=Am J Clin Nutr|date=2013|volume=98|issue=4|pages=1136–43|doi=10.3945/ajcn.113.066688|pmc=3778862}}

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.{{cite book|author1-last=Heitzman|author1-first=J. Richard|author2-last=Heitzman|author2-first=Joan E.|editor1-last=Love|editor1-first=Kathy|editor2-last=Larsen|editor2-first=LuAnne|others=Rathert, Jim (principal photographer)|title=Butterflies and moths of Missouri|date=1996|publisher=Missouri Dept. of Conservation|location=Jefferson City, MO|isbn=1-887247-06-8}}

Additional pests common to broccoli production include:{{cite web|title=Cabbage, Broccoli & Other Cole Crop Insect Pests|url=https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/cabbage-broccoli-other-cole-crop-insect-pests/|website=Home & Garden Information Center|date=4 May 2020|publisher=Clemson University|location=South Carolina|access-date=28 November 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=7 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207131415/https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/cabbage-broccoli-other-cole-crop-insect-pests/|url-status=live}}

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

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.

{{Portal|Agriculture|Food}}

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

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Broccoli}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160210161136/http://database.prota.org/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?AC=QBE_QUERY&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fdatabase.prota.org%2Fsearch.htm&TN=PROTAB~1&QB0=AND&QF0=Species+Code&QI0=Brassica+oleracea+cauliflower+and+broccoli&RF=Webdisplay PROTAbase on Brassica oleracea (cauliflower and broccoli)] (archived 10 February 2016)
• [http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cucurbit/wehner/vegcult/broccoli.html List of North American broccoli cultivars], USDA/ARS Vegetable Laboratory

{{Brassica oleraca}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q47722}}

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Category:Brassica

Category:Crops originating from Europe

Category:Edible plants

Category:Food plant cultivars

Category:Inflorescence vegetables

Category:Italian words and phrases