ARUGULA

also called roquette, rocket salad, garden rocket, or rugola (species Eruca vesicaria sativa), Mediterranean annual herb, of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), naturalized in parts of North America. Arugula grows to about 70 cm (2.5 feet) tall. Four-petaled, white, purple-veined flowers top its flower stalks. Thick, flat-beaked pods hug the stalk below, interspersed with stalkless, sharp-lobed leaves. The larger basal leaves have stalks and, when young, are used in salads as a seasoning on account of their pungent, peppery flavour. A medicinal oil is extracted from the seeds.