File:Cauliflower past its best - detail - geograph.org.uk - 584756.jpg

English: Cauliflower past its best - detail. When cauliflower is not harvested in time the curds grow shoots that develop into flowers > 584759. – Cauliflower is believed to have evolved in Roman times from wild or primitive cultivated forms of Brassica oleracea from the eastern Mediterranean region. During the last 400 years the vegetable spread from Italy to central and northern Europe and to the United States of America, from where it has spread throughout the world in the last 50 years. Cauliflower heads (curds) are mostly consumed as a cooked vegetable but they can also be consumed raw or pickled . Total world production of cauliflower in 2002 was estimated at 15.3 million tons per year from 812,000 ha. The major cauliflower producing areas are in China. For detailed information see [1].