Romanesco
Broccoli is an edible relative of the cauliflower. It was discovered in the
16th century in Italy, and has become a fixation of mathematical types. For
some reason, the plant grows in a self similar shape that spirals
logarithmically towards the center. The design is similar to a fractal which is
a complicated design produced by simple mathematic rules. This plant fascinated
the STS staff so much that we acquired some seeds of our own, and we will be
growing a dozen of these plants shortly.
Romanesco,
also known as Romanesque cauliflower or Romanesco broccoli, is an edible flower
bud of the species Brassica oleracea. First documented in Italy, it is light
green in color. Romanesco has a striking appearance because its form is a
natural approximation of a fractal. When compared to a traditional cauliflower,
as a vegetable its texture is far more crunchy, and its flavour is not as
assertive, being delicate and nutty.
Romanesco
was first documented in Italy (as broccolo romanesco). It is sometimes called
broccoflower, but that name has also been applied to green cauliflower
cultivars.
Description
Romanesco superficially resembles a cauliflower, but it is light green in colour, and its form is strikingly fractal in nature. The inflorescence (the bud) isself-similar in character, with the branched meristems making up a logarithmic spiral. In this sense the bud's form approximates 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 several 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. In computer graphics, its pattern has been modeled as a recursive helical arrangement of cones.
Romanesco superficially resembles a cauliflower, but it is light green in colour, and its form is strikingly fractal in nature. The inflorescence (the bud) isself-similar in character, with the branched meristems making up a logarithmic spiral. In this sense the bud's form approximates 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 several 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. In computer graphics, its pattern has been modeled as a recursive helical arrangement of cones.
As
a vegetable Romanesco is rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, dietary fiber and
carotenoids.
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, but the genetic basis of this is not known.
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