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Cauliflower

Brassica oleracea Botrytis Group · Cabbage family

Plant portrait

Broad leaves surround a compact central cauliflower head, known as the curd. The model represents a white variety; orange, purple and green curds also exist.

Harvested part

The curd, formed from immature flower tissue.

What to watch for

Look for the small curd among the leaves and watch it develop. Its compactness and any separation of the florets help show its condition; these are flower structures, with no fruits illustrated.

Growth stages of the cauliflower

Plotilo illustrates the cauliflower in 5 stages in 3D: seed, small sprout, young plant, growing and harvest. The models show typical shapes; they do not predict how long growth takes.

  1. Seed

    Starting from a seed. It is shown on the surface to make it visible in this illustration.

  2. Small sprout

    A short first stem and its first small leaves emerge.

  3. Young plant

    The young plant carries more leaves and starts to take its own shape.

  4. Growing

    Leaves and stems develop. Their shape depends on the species.

  5. Harvest

    An illustration of the harvested part. Roots are made visible for clarity; this image does not confirm actual maturity.

See the cauliflower in 3D

Same botanical family

Same botanical family as the cauliflower (the cabbage family): the radish, the broccoli, the cabbage, the turnip, the Chinese cabbage, the Brussels sprout and 8 more plants from the catalogue. Gardeners usually avoid growing the same family in the same spot several years in a row: that is the idea behind crop rotation.

Further reading

Botanical and horticultural references. Real conditions vary with the variety, soil and climate.

Make room for the cauliflower in your garden plan

Draw your beds to the metre, drop crops from the palette and explore the same garden in 3D.

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