Arugula, eruca, or rocket is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used as a leaf vegetable for its fresh, tart, bitter, and peppery flavor. Its other common names include "garden rocket", as well as "colewort", "roquette", "ruchetta", "rucola", "rucoli", and "rugula". E. vesicaria is widely popular as a salad vegetable and it is a species of Eruca native to the Mediterranean region.