Is canola oil a type of vegetable?

Canola oil is not a vegetable; it is a pale, golden cooking oil made from the seeds of the canola plant. The plant is often mistaken for rapeseed, but they are not the same.

Canola plants belong to the Brassica family, which includes cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli. The plant grows to three to six feet tall and produces bright yellow flowers. It bears pods full of round, yellowish-brown or black seeds, and the average seed is approximately 45 percent oil. It is lower in saturated fat than other commonly used oils.

In the early 1970s canola was developed from rapeseed in order to eliminate some of the rapeseed's unhealthy properties. Canola was bred selectively to enhance its nutritional qualities.