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'''Broccoli''' is a plant in the [[Brassicaceae|cabbage family]], whose large flower head is used as a vegetable. Broccoli is classified in the Italica [[cultivar group]] of the species ''[[Brassica oleracea]]''. Broccoli has large [[flower head]]s, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like fashion on [[branches]] [[sprouting]] from a thick, edible [[plant stem|stalk]]. The Broccoli leaves are also edible. The mass of flower heads is surrounded by leaves. Broccoli most closely resembles [[cauliflower]], which is a different cultivar group of the same species. }} {{Inc| Broccoli, which is a long-season [[cauliflower]], is in all respects like cauliflower except that its vegetative parts are somewhat coarser, the heads somewhat smaller, and it does not form an edible curd early in its life as does cauliflower. Broccoli is cultivated only in climates having a mild winter, when it can be planted the summer before and carried through the winter to form heads early the following spring. It is a popular plant in all parts of France and particularly in England. It is undoubtedly the parent type of the cauliflower, the cultivated varieties of cauliflower being short-season forms. For best results, the seed should be sown at the same time as that of autumn cabbage and the plants transplanted to the field about the same time, so that they will make their vegetative growth during the late summer and autumn. Altough there is cultivar variety who can be best planted in early spring in zone 3-4. Where winters are mild, the plants can be left in the open, but in more rigorous climates at the approach of cold weather, a small number of plants can be lifted with earth adhering to the roots, stored in a suitable root-cellar, and the following spring transferred to the open to form heads. L. C. Cobbett.{{SCH}} }} ==Cultivation== Broccoli is a cool-weather crop that does poorly in hot summer weather. Broccoli grows best when exposed to an average daily temperature between {{convert|18|and|23|°C|°F}}.<ref>{{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|accessdate = 25 August 2009}}</ref> When the cluster of flowers, also referred to as a "head" of broccoli, appear in the center of the plant, the cluster is green. Garden pruners or shears are used to cut the head about an inch from the tip. Broccoli should be cultivated before the flowers on the head bloom bright yellow.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title = Broccoli|last = Liptay|first = Albert|year = 1988|publisher = [[World Book Encyclopedia|World Book, Inc.]]}}</ref> ===Propagation=== Seed. ===Pests and diseases=== '''Pest''' Cabbage Butterfly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieris_brassicae] Cabbage Fly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_radicum] Cabbage Looper [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabbage_looper] Cutworm [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutworm] '''Diseases''' Clubroot [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clubroot] Black Rot Mildew ==Varieties== There are three commonly grown types of broccoli. The most familiar is a often referred to simply as "broccoli", and sometimes calabrese named after [[Calabria]] in Italy. It has large (10 to 20 cm) green heads and thick stalks. It is a cool season annual crop. '''Sprouting broccoli''' has a larger number of heads with many thin stalks. It is planted in May to be harvested during the winter or early the following year in temperate climates. The heirloom variety "calabrese" available in North America is of this type. '''Raab broccoli''' has a larger number of small heads with many thin stalks and little leaves. It is technically in the Rapa cultivar group. [[Romanesco broccoli]] has a distinctive [[fractal]] appearance of its heads, and is yellow-green in colour. It is technically in the Botrytis ([[cauliflower]]) cultivar group. '''Purple cauliflower''' is a type of broccoli sold in southern Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It has a head shaped like cauliflower, but consisting of tiny flower buds. It sometimes, but not always, has a purple cast to the tips of the flower buds. Other cultivar groups of ''Brassica oleracea'' include [[cabbage]] (Capitata Group), [[cauliflower]] (Botrytis Group), [[kale]] and [[collard greens]] (Acephala Group), [[kohlrabi]] (Gongylodes Group), and [[Brussels sprout]]s (Gemmifera Group). [[Chinese broccoli]] (Alboglabra Group) is also a cultivar group of ''Brassica oleracea''.<ref name=Dixon2007>{{cite book|last1 = Dixon|first1 = G.R.|year = 2007|title = Vegetable brassicas and related crucifers|isbn = 9780851993959|publisher = CABI|location = Wallingford}}</ref> ==Gallery== <gallery> Image:Broccoli crop.jpg|Test plot-grown broccoli Image:sa_broccoli_florets.jpg|Extreme close-up of broccoli florets. Image:Broccoli_bloem.jpg | Broccoli flowers. Image:Broccoli DSC00861.png|Two broccoli heads. Image:Fractal Broccoli.jpg|[[Romanesco broccoli]], showing [[fractal]] forms Image:Broccoli in a dish 2.jpg|Steamed broccoli </gallery> ==References== *[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963 <!--- xxxxx *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381 --> <!--- xxxxx *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432 --> <!--- xxxxx *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608 --> ==External links== *{{wplink}} __NOTOC__
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