Rocket

Rocket (Eruca vesicaria) is an annual herb and a member of the mustard (or cabbage) family Brassicaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean, the Near East, and much of temperate Asia. The genus name (Eruca) is the Latin name for this herb. In the United States cultivated rocket is known as arugula; in England, it is garden rocket.

Throughout history rocket has been enjoyed both as a salad herb and a pot herb. In addition, its seeds have been used as a spice in the fashion of mustard seeds. In recent traditional medicine it was regarded primarily as antiscorbutic (preventing scurvy). In Rome in the first century AD, rocket was a popular salad herb; and it had a reputation as an aphrodisiac. In the Talmud rocket is known as gargor. It is identified as a pot herb, but a decoction might be used for the treatment of eye problems. In addition, at that time, it was believed to elevate sperm count.

Contrary to the opinions of some Internet bloggers, rocket is not the Biblical oroth mentioned in 2 Kings 4:38-40. Oroth is a plural word that is usually translated as “herbs” (in this story meaning pot herbs). During a famine, a hungry traveler sent out to gather pot herbs for a meal might well have collected rocket along with other pot herbs if they had been available; but in this brief Biblical story, none were found. The eminent botanist Michael Zohary has a more charitable interpretation. In Plants of the Bible, 1982, page 101, he states that “Since oroth also appears as gargir in the Talmud it can plausibly be identified with rocket.”

Clay tablets (c. 1400-1200 BC) from the town of Urgarit on the Syrian coast contain references to a plant named ṯrdn which might be rocket. See, Wilfred G.E. Watson, “A Botanical Snapshot of Ugarit. Trees, fruit, plants and herbs in the cuneiform text.”, Aula orientalis, vol. 22, no. 1, 2004, pages 107-155. Rocket has not been identified in early Egyptian medical papyri, such as the Ebers papyrus (c. 1550 BC).

In the Victorian language of flowers, rocket represents “Rivalry”.

These days rocket may seem to be merely a culinary embellishment for a tossed salad, but it has long held a place in the history of herbs.

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