Brassicaceae
Eruca

Eruca sativa Mill.

First published in Gard. Dict., ed. 8.: n.° 1 (1768)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Medit. to China and Arabian Peninsula. It is an annual and grows primarily in the subtropical biome.

Descriptions

Cruciferae, A. W. Exell. Flora Zambesiaca 1:1. 1960

Morphology General Habit
Annual or perennial glaucous herb with slender tap-root and stiff, erect, pubescent stem up to 80 cm. tall.
Morphology Leaves
Lower leaves stalked, lyrate-pinnatifid or pinnate, terminal leaflet or lobe oblong or obovate, lateral ones narrower, all coarsely toothed or lobed or sometimes entire.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers yellow or whitish veined with purple, pedicellate, pedicels 2–4 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals 8–10 mm. long, oblong.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals up to 25 mm. long, obovate-cuneate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Silique 12–25 x 3–5 mm., with an elongate-triangular beak up to 7–8 mm. long and 4 mm. broad at the base.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds brownish, 2 x 1 mm., flattened-ellipsoid.
[FZ]

Common Names

unknown
arugula, cabbage, rocket

Sources

  • EBC Common Names

    • Common Names from Kew's Economic Botany Collection https://www.kew.org/science/collections-and-resources/collections/economic-botany-collection

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images