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Romanesco broccoli

Vegetable, member of the cabbage family

Vegetable, member of the cabbage family

FieldValue
nameRomanesco
imageRomanesco broccoli (Brassica oleracea).jpg
image_captionRomanesco, showing its self-similar form
speciesBrassica oleracea
groupBotrytis cultivar group

Romanesco broccoli (also known as broccolo romanesco, romanesque cauliflower, or simply romanesco) is a cultivar of the cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis). It is one of two types of broccoflower. It is an edible flower bud of the species Brassica oleracea, which also includes regular broccoli and cauliflower. It is chartreuse in color and has a striking form that naturally approximates a fractal. Romanesco has a nutty flavor and a firmer texture than white cauliflower or broccoli when cooked.

Description

Romanesco broccoli texture
Romanesco broccoli in a field

Romanesco superficially resembles a cauliflower, but it is chartreuse in color, with the form of a natural fractal. Nutritionally, romanesco is rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, dietary fiber, and carotenoids.

Fractal structure

The inflorescence (the bud) is self-similar in character, with the branched meristems making up a logarithmic spiral, giving a form approximating a natural fractal; each bud is composed of a series of smaller buds, all arranged in yet another logarithmic spiral. This self-similar pattern continues at smaller levels. The pattern is only an approximate fractal since the pattern eventually terminates when the feature size becomes sufficiently small. The number of spirals on the head of Romanesco broccoli is a Fibonacci number.

The causes of its differences in appearance from the normal cauliflower and broccoli have been modeled as an extension of the preinfloresence stage of bud growth. A 2021 paper ascribed this phenomenon to perturbations of floral gene networks that causes the development of meristems into flowers to fail, but instead to repeat itself in a self-similar way.

References

References

  1. (2021-07-09). "Cauliflower fractal forms arise from perturbations of floral gene networks". Science.
  2. Cathy Wilkinson Barash. (1998). "Kitchen Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful and Functional Culinary Garden". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  3. Marie Iannotti. (2012). "The Beginner's Guide to Growing Heirloom Vegetables: The 100 Easiest-to-Grow, Tastiest Vegetables for Your Garden". Timber Press.
  4. (2018). "The Flavor Matrix: The Art and Science of Pairing Common Ingredients to Create Extraordinary Dishes". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  5. Tufts Nutrition. "Tufts Nutrition Top 10". Tufts Nutrition Magazine.
  6. Ron Knott. (30 October 2010). "Fibonacci Numbers and Nature". Ron Knott's Web Pages on Mathematics.
  7. Martin Kieffer. (July 1998). "Explaining Curd and Spear Geometry in Broccoli, Cauliflower and 'Romanesco': Quantitative Variation in Activity of Primary Meristems". [[Planta (journal).
  8. (2021-07-09). "Cauliflower fractal forms arise from perturbations of floral gene networks". Science.
  9. Farcot, Etienne. "Why do cauliflowers look so odd? We've cracked the maths behind their 'fractal' shape".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

brassica-oleracea fractals inflorescence-vegetables
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