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External Websites
- WebMD - Health Benefits of Cauliflower
- North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox - Brassica oleracea (Botrytis Group)
- The Spruce Eats - What Is Cauliflower?
- Royal Horticultural Society - How to grow cauliflowers
- PlantVillage - Cauliflower
- LiveScience - Cauliflower: Health Benefits & Nutrition Facts
- Healthline - The Top 8 Health Benefits of Cauliflower
- Frontiers - Molecular Breeding Strategy and Challenges Towards Improvement of Downy Mildew Resistance in Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.)
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln - Food - Cauliflower
- University of Minnesota Extension - Growing cauliflower in home gardens
- Home & Garden Information Center - Cauliflower
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- cauliflower - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
- WebMD - Health Benefits of Cauliflower
- North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox - Brassica oleracea (Botrytis Group)
- The Spruce Eats - What Is Cauliflower?
- Royal Horticultural Society - How to grow cauliflowers
- PlantVillage - Cauliflower
- LiveScience - Cauliflower: Health Benefits & Nutrition Facts
- Healthline - The Top 8 Health Benefits of Cauliflower
- Frontiers - Molecular Breeding Strategy and Challenges Towards Improvement of Downy Mildew Resistance in Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.)
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln - Food - Cauliflower
- University of Minnesota Extension - Growing cauliflower in home gardens
- Home & Garden Information Center - Cauliflower
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- cauliflower - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
Also known as: Brassica oleracea, variety botrytis
Written by
Melissa Petruzzello
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
cauliflower
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cauliflower, (Brassica oleracea, variety botrytis), highly modified form of cabbage in the mustard family (Brassicaceae), grown for its edible masses of partially developed flower structures and fleshy stalks. Cauliflower is high in vitamins C and K and is frequently served as a cooked vegetable or used raw in salads and relishes.
Cauliflowers are annual plants that reach about 0.5 metre (1.5 feet) tall and bear large rounded leaves that resemble collards (Brassica oleracea, variety acephala). As desired for food, the terminal cluster forms a firm, succulent “curd,” or head, that is an immature inflorescence (cluster of flowers). The broad leaves extend far above the curd and are often tied together before harvest to shade the curd and prevent discoloration. Commercially, white cauliflower is the most common, though orange, purple, green, and brown cultivars also exist. The plants produce cross-shaped yellow flowers and bear seeds in dry capsules known as siliques.
Britannica QuizWhat’s on the Menu? Vocabulary QuizCauliflower is a cool-weather crop and requires consistent temperatures of about 16 °C (60 °F) to produce heads. The plants grow best in moist nitrogen-rich soil and will produce only small heads if stressed with drought. Clubroot, a fungal disease, is a common problem for cauliflower crops, and the plants are fairly susceptible to a number of foliage-eating insects, including cabbage loopers, cabbage whites, and aphids.
Melissa PetruzzelloThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica