Cauliflower
- Family : Cruciferae (Brasicaceae)
- Botanical Name : Brassica oleraceae var. botrytis
- English/Common Name : Cauliflower
- Choromosome Number : 2n =18
- Place of origin : Mediterranean Region
Botany
- Cross pollinated crop.
- The edible portion of Cauliflower is the white curd like mass composed of a close aggregation (closely crowded) of abortive flowers whose stalks are short, fleshy.
- Of the common terms applied for the edible parts of cauliflower, e.g. head, inflorescence, curd and flower cluster, curd seems to be the most appropriate.
- Sidki (1962) concluded that a cauliflower curd consist of the repeatedly branched terminal portion of the main axis of the plant.
- The curd of cauliflower is presently thought as the pre-floral fleshy apical meristem.
- The cauliflower curd has been described as being composed of fascinated and hypertrophy flower stalks which produce only rudiments of abortive flowers.
- It is a prefloral fleshy apical meristem which invariably precedes floral initiation.
- The flowers are born in racemes on the main stem and its branches.
- The buds open under the pressure of the rapidly growing petals. This process starts in the afternoon, and usually the flower becomes fully expanded during the following morning. The anthers open a few hours later, being slightly protogynous. The anthesis of flowers starts at 8 A. M. and continuous up to 11.30 A.M. under normal conditions. In general, dehiscence occurs between 8 A.M. to 12 noon.
- The pollen fertility is considerably high at the time of anthesis and one day before anthesis. The fertility is reduced one day after anthesis.
- The stigma becomes receptive two days before and remains so up to two days after anthesis.