First cultivated by the Romans and Greeks, broccoli continued to be grown in Italy only appearing in France in the 16th Century and reaching the British Isles in the early 1700s. This variety of sprouting broccoli – characterised by bright purple buds on the tips of long, leafy stems – first appears in The Day Book of Cockmanning’s Nursery, 1777.
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
