broccoli Brassica oleracea, Cymosa group, is one of the most puzzling members of the cabbage family. The trouble is that, although shopkeepers and shoppers can usually distinguish it easily from the cauliflower, botanists cannot.
Like the cauliflower, broccoli is a sort of cabbage in which flowers have begun to form but have stopped growing while still in bud. In the cauliflower the buds are clustered tightly together to form the familiar white head. In broccoli, or at least what is called ‘sprouting broccoli’, they are in separate groups, each group on its own thick, fleshy stalk. Besides sprouting broccoli (which is ready for consumption in the spring, after overwintering, and may have purple, green, or white flower heads), the main category of this vegetable is
calabrese, an annual broccoli which is harvested in summer; it is green or purple. A third category, romanesco, matures later in the year, displaying yellowish-green multiple heads, grouped together. However, the development of numerous cultivars has resulted in a highly complex situation.
