The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
cauliflower
(kô´lflou´´r, käl´) (KEY) , variety of cabbage, with an edible head of condensed flowers and flower stems. Broccoli is the horticultural variety (botrytis); both were cultivated in Roman times. Cauliflower is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Capparales, family Cruciferae.