Botany of Cauliflower

• • Cauliflower and broccoli are the same species and have very similar structures, though cauliflower replaces the green flower buds with white inflorescence meristem.

Botany of Cauliflower - Major groups

• • There are four major groups of cauliflower.

    1. Italian. Diverse appearance, biennial and annual types. Includes white, Romanesco, various green, purple, brown and yellow cultivars. This type is the ancestral form from which the others were derived.

    2. Northwest European biennial. Used in Europe for winter and early spring harvest. Developed in France in the 19th century. Includes the old cultivars Roscoff and Angers.

    3. Northern European annuals. Used in Europe and North America for summer and fall harvest. Developed in Germany in the 18th century. Includes old cultivars Erfurt and Snowball.

    4. Asian. Tropical cauliflower used in China and India. Developed in India during the 19th century from the now-abandoned Cornish type. Includes old varieties Early Patna and Early Benaras.

Botany of Cauliflower - Varieties

• • Traditional varieties include 'Snowball', 'Hybrid White', 'Super Snowball', 'Snow Crown', 'Mayflower', Candid Charm', 'Mormon', 'Agrahani', 'poushi', 'maghi', 'Snow White', 'Snow Grace'.

  • Self-blanching varieties are 'Self Blanche', 'Early Tuscan', 'Late Tuscan'.

  • Heirloom varieties include 'All the Year Round', 'Early Pearl', 'Early Snowball', 'Igloo', 'Violetta Italia' and 'Walcheren Winter'. Commercial varieties includue 'Fremont', 'Igloo' and 'Snow Crown'.

Botany of Cauliflower - Colours

• • Orange cauliflower (B. oleracea L. var. botrytis) contains 25 times the level of Vitamin A of white varieties. This trait came from a natural mutant found in a cauliflower field in Canada. Cultivars include 'Cheddar' and 'Orange Bouquet'.

  • Green cauliflower of the B. oleracea Botrytis group, is sometimes called broccoflower or brocliflower/broccliflower. It is available both with the normal curd shape and a variant spiky curd called "Romanesco broccoli". Both types have been commercially available in the US and Europe since the early 1990s. Romanesco's head is an example of a fractal image in nature, repeating itself in self-similarity at varying scales. Green curded varieties include 'Alverda', 'Green Goddess' and 'Vorda'. Romanesco varieties include 'Minaret', and 'Veronica'.

  • Purple cauliflower also exists. The purple colour is caused by the presence of the antioxidant group anthocyanin, which can also be found in red cabbage and red wine. Varieties include 'Graffiti' and 'Purple Cape'. In Great Britain and southern Italy, a broccoli with tiny flower buds is sold as a vegetable under the name "purple cauliflower." It is not the same as standard cauliflower with a purple curd.