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Brassicaceae family

Rocketsalad (subsp. sativa) Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa subspecies

Also known as: Garden Rocket

Rocketsalad (subsp. sativa) is an introduced annual herb, found in Canada and the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Eruca vesicaria is a species of Eruca native to Spain, Morocco, and Algeria. Some botanists consider Eruca vesicaria and E. sativa (arugula) to be conspecific. However, they are different in many morphological aspects such as sepal persistence, silique shape, and habit. Most importantly, they do not hybridize freely with each other as there is partial reproductive isolation between them. Plants of the World Online has accepted them as two distinct species. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 4 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Annual
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~1 caterpillar species

Eruca supports ~1 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a modest genus for introduced plants — native genera typically support far more.

Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[07] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[08] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[09] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[11] Other common names — Wikidata (CC0)
[12] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
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