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Eruca spp.

Arugula

Brassicaceae Mediterranean and western Asia

Attracts Pollinators Attracts Butterflies Container Friendly

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

Overview

Eruca spp. is a small genus of about five species of annual and biennial herbs in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region and western Asia. The species most often grown in gardens, E. vesicaria (including the salad form E. sativa), is the arugula or rocket of vegetable beds. Plants form a low basal rosette and then send up branching flower stems 8-40 in (20-100 cm) tall. The leaves are deeply pinnately lobed, 2-8 in (5-20 cm) long, with a peppery, mustard-like flavor that strengthens as plants age. Four-petalled flowers 0.4-0.8 in (1-2 cm) across appear in loose racemes and are cream to pale yellow with distinct violet or brown veining, followed by short, upright seedpods called siliques that hold the small seeds. Eruca spp. grows quickly in cool weather and runs to flower and seed rapidly in heat or long days, after which the leaves turn bitter and tough. It tolerates poor soils but needs steady moisture for tender growth. Grown mainly as a cool-season leaf crop, it also yields edible flowers and seeds, the latter pressed for oil in parts of its native range.

Native Range

Eruca spp. is native to the Mediterranean Basin and western and central Asia, from North Africa and southern Europe east to Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. It grows in dry, open, disturbed ground, on roadsides, fallow fields, and rocky slopes, and has naturalized beyond its native range as an escaped crop.

Suggested Uses

Eruca spp. is grown as a cool-season salad and cooking green in vegetable beds, containers, and cut-and-come-again seedling trays. Quick to mature, it is interplanted between slower crops and sown in succession for a steady supply. The edible flowers are used as a peppery garnish.

How to Identify

Identify Eruca spp. by its rosette of deeply lobed, peppery-scented leaves and branching stems carrying cream to pale yellow four-petalled flowers veined in violet or brown. The flower color with dark veining separates it from the plain yellow flowers of many related mustards. Short, erect siliques with a flattened beak follow the flowers.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height8" - 3'4"

Width/Spread6" - 1'

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~4 weeks

Spring Summer

In garden cultivation Eruca spp. flowers within a few months of sowing, often by late spring or summer, as rising heat and lengthening days trigger bolting. Plants in the wild bloom mainly from spring into early summer. Once flowering begins the leaves coarsen, so leaf crops are harvested before bloom.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

cream to pale yellow with violet veins

Foliage Description

green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 4-10 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range6.0 - 7.0(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

loam sand

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Medium

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Grow Eruca spp. in full sun to light shade in moist, fertile, well-drained soil, with afternoon shade holding leaf quality in warm regions. Sow seed directly every few weeks from early spring and again in late summer for a fall crop, since cool weather keeps the leaves mild and tender. Even soil moisture matters, because drought and heat speed bolting and sharpen the flavor. Thin seedlings to about 6 in (15 cm) apart for full leaves, or grow densely for cut baby leaves. Flea beetles often pit the foliage, and floating row cover lowers the damage. Plants mature quickly and are pulled or resown once they flower.

Pruning

Eruca spp. needs no pruning. Outer leaves are picked as needed, which prompts further growth from the center, and the whole plant is cut or pulled once it bolts. Removing the first flower stalks delays seeding briefly but rarely restores leaf quality.