sativa (Miller) Thell., Brassica eruca L.) is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used as a leaf vegetable for its fresh, tart, bitter, and peppery flavor.

[8] The English common name rocket derives from French roquette, itself a borrowing from Italian ruchetta, a diminutive of ruca, from the Latin word eruca.

[9] "Arugula" (/əˈruːɡələ/), the common name now widespread in the United States and Canada, entered American English from a nonstandard dialect of Italian.

As an invasive species arugula is widespread but scattered though is prolific and noxious in the Sonora desert of Arizona and California.

[13] Grown as an edible and popular herb in Italy since Roman times, arugula was mentioned by various ancient Roman authors as an aphrodisiac,[14][15] for example in a poem long ascribed to the first-century poet Virgil, Moretum, which contains the line: "et Venerem revocans eruca morantem" ("and the rocket, which revives drowsy Venus [sexual desire]"),[16] and in the Ars Amatoria of Ovid.

[18] Nonetheless, the plant was listed in a decree by Charlemagne as among the 63 pot herbs suitable for growing in gardens.

[19] Gillian Riley, author of the Oxford Companion to Italian Food, states that because of its reputation as a sexual stimulant, it was "prudently mixed with lettuce, which was the opposite" (i.e., calming or even soporific).

It now is naturalized as a wild plant away from its native range in temperate regions around the world, including northern Europe and North America.

Mild frost conditions hinder the plant's growth and turn the green leaves to red.

In Rome, "rucola" is used in "straccetti", a dish of thin slices of beef with raw arugula and Parmesan cheese.

[30] In Turkey, similarly, the plant is eaten raw as a side dish or salad with fish or is served with a sauce of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.