Raphanus raphanistrum

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Raphanus raphanistrum
Raphanus raphanistrum - Deutschlands flora in abbildungen nach der natur - vol. 6 - t. 40 - clean.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Raphanus
Species:
R. raphanistrum
Binomial name
Raphanus raphanistrum
L.
Habit (MHNT) Raphanus raphanistrum - Habitus.jpg
Habit

Raphanus raphanistrum, also known as wild radish, white charlock or jointed charlock, [1] is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. One of its subspecies, Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus, includes a diverse variety of cultivated radishes. The species is native to western Asia, Europe and parts of Northern Africa. It has been introduced into most parts of the world and is regarded as a habitat threatening invasive species in many areas, for example, Australia. It spreads rapidly and is often found growing on roadsides or in other places where the ground has been disturbed.

Contents

Description

The petals have a characteristic pattern of veins Raphanus raphanistrum petals.jpg
The petals have a characteristic pattern of veins

Wild radish is an annual that grows up to 75 cm tall, variously branched to multi-stemmed, with a distinct slender taproot which does not swell like that of the cultivated radish. The stems are green and sometimes purple at the base and nodes, round in cross section and slightly ridged, and bristly-hairy all over. It has a basal rosette of pinnate leaves to 38 cm long, with a 3 cm stalk (petiole) and a large rounded terminal lobe that has a undulate margin; the lateral lobes sometimes overlap the midrib. The stem leaves become progressively less lobed as they ascend, and more acutely serrated. Both the upper and lower surface of each leaf is roughly hairy, as are the leaf margins, which have minutely bulbous-based hairs projecting horizontally. The leaves have green or purple tips (hydathodes) on each tooth. [2] [3] [4]

The basal leaves are often pinnately divided. Raphanus raphanistrum leaves.jpg
The basal leaves are often pinnately divided.

The flowering period is between May and October in northern Europe, or between June and August in Minnesota. [5] The inflorescence is a lax raceme, terminal or arising from the leaf axil, up to 34 cm long with up to 42 flowers. The flowers have four white (sometimes yellow or purple) petals, up to 24 mm long, sometimes with dark veins (especially on the underside). Each petal has a rounded "limb" above a narrow "claw", both about the same length. The four upright sepals are shorter than the petals, green or purple, and have sparse bulbous-based hairs. There are 6 stamens (2 short and 4 long) and one style with two stigmas. [2]

The fruits are borne on bristly-hairy pedicels about 3 cm long and held vertically (whether the rhachis is erect or sprawling). Each fruit consists of a pod with two segments: the lower one is about 1-2 mm long and sterile (just occasionally with one seed), while the upper one is up to 8 cm long and has 1-10 fertile segments (mericarps), each containing one oval seed up to 3 mm long. At the tip of the pod is a sterile beak up to 2.5 cm long. The fruits are terete, smooth or slightly ridged, and glabrous to roughly hairy, with a peppery taste. At the tip of the beak is the persistent, sessile white stigma. [3] [2] [6]

Taxonomy

It was formally described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in his seminal publication 'Species Plantarum' on page 669 in 1753. [7] [8] [9]

The genome of wild radish is estimated to be ~515 Mb in size, [10] whereas that of the edible variety is suggested to be ~539574 Mb. [11] [12] [13] Several Raphanus raphanistrum genomes have been sequenced, [10] [12] [13] with one study reporting 98% coverage of the gene space. [13] Researchers found evidence that the past whole-genome triplication that occurred before the divergence of Raphanus and Brassica has been followed by widespread gene loss in radish, resulting in the loss of ~38,000 genes from the wild radish genome. [10]

Raphanus raphanistrum has several known subspecies including:

The scientific name Raphanus derives from the Ancient Greek name for a radish, ραφανίς (raphanis). [17] It has several common names including jointed charlock, [5] jointed radish, jointed wild radish, white charlock, [18] and wild radish. [9] [19]

It is often erroneously identified as mustard.

Identification

The flowers are very similar to those of the searocket, which is found in some of the same regions (in the US) and is easily distinguished from it by having thinner, non-succulent stems and leaves. [18]

Distribution and habitat

It is native to temperate regions of North Africa, Europe and parts of Western Asia. [9]

Range

It is found in North Africa, within Macaronesia, Madeira Islands, Canary Islands, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Within Western Asia it is found in the Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. In eastern Europe, it is found within Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. In middle Europe, it is in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland. In northern Europe, in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom. In southeastern Europe, within Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. Also in southwestern Europe, it is found in France, Portugal and Spain. [9]

Ecology

Wild radish in a cereal field margin Raphanus raphanistrum habitat.jpg
Wild radish in a cereal field margin

It is frost hardy, and even hard freezes only temporarily interrupt bloom. In Australia, it is regarded as a habitat threatening invasive species in many areas. [20] [21] [22] In Canada, it is a naturalised species and sometimes hybridizes with cultivated radish, R. sativus. It has also proved to be resistant to several herbicides. [23]

In southeastern USA, the pale yellow form is common, sometimes entirely taking over fields in wintertime. It is a significant source of pollen and nectar for a variety of pollinators, especially honey bees during the very early spring starting buildup. Female Andrena agilissima , or mining bees, frequent this plant to obtain pollen and nectar. [24] Other pollinators include cabbage butterflies and a few syrphid fly species. [25]

Uses

All tender parts of the plant are edible. The leaves and flowers have a spicy taste or aftertaste. The seedpods can be eaten, as can the outer skin of the root (after being washed). [26] It is said that John Walker cultivated sea radish root as an alternative to horseradish after discovering the plant on the west coast of Scotland as early as 1753. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brassicaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Brassicaceae or Cruciferae is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leaves are simple, lack stipules, and appear alternately on stems or in rosettes. The inflorescences are terminal and lack bracts. The flowers have four free sepals, four free alternating petals, two shorter free stamens and four longer free stamens. The fruit has seeds in rows, divided by a thin wall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radish</span> Root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae

The radish is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times.

<i>Daucus carota</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae

Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, European wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World and was naturalized in the New World.

<i>Digitalis purpurea</i> Toxic flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae

Digitalis purpurea, the foxglove or common foxglove, is a poisonous species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, native to and widespread throughout most of temperate Europe. It has also naturalised in parts of North America and some other temperate regions. The plant is a popular garden subject, with many cultivars available. It is the original source of the heart medicine digoxin. This biennial plant grows as a rosette of leaves in the first year after sowing, before flowering and then dying in the second year. It generally produces enough seeds, however, so that new plants will continue to grow in a garden setting.

<i>Primula vulgaris</i> Species of plant

Primula vulgaris, the common primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and parts of southwest Asia. The common name is primrose, or occasionally common primrose or English primrose to distinguish it from other Primula species also called primroses. None of these are closely related to the evening primroses.

<i>Raphanus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Raphanus is a genus within the flowering plant family Brassicaceae.

<i>Crocus sativus</i> Species of plant, saffron crocus

Crocus sativus, commonly known as saffron crocus or autumn crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the iris family Iridaceae. A cormous autumn-flowering cultivated perennial, unknown in the wild, it is best known for the culinary use of its floral stigmas as the spice saffron. Human cultivation of saffron crocus and the trade and use of saffron have endured for more than 3,500 years and span different cultures, continents, and civilizations.

<i>Lamium amplexicaule</i> Species of flowering plant

Lamium amplexicaule, commonly known as common henbit, or greater henbit, is a species of Lamium native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa.

<i>Heracleum sphondylium</i> Species of flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae

Heracleum sphondylium, commonly known as hogweed, common hogweed or cow parsnip, is a herbaceous perennial or biennial plant, in the umbelliferous family Apiaceae that includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and giant hogweed. It is native to Europe and Asia. The common name eltrot may also be applied, but is not specific to this species. Umbelliferous plants are so named because of the umbrella-like arrangement of flowers they produce. The North American species Heracleum maximum is sometimes included as a subspecies of H. sphondylium.

<i>Cardamine hirsuta</i> Species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae

Cardamine hirsuta, commonly called hairy bittercress, is an annual or biennial species of plant in the family Brassicaceae, and is edible as a salad green. It is common in moist areas around the world.

<i>Sinapis arvensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Sinapis arvensis, the charlock mustard, field mustard, wild mustard, or charlock, is an annual or winter annual plant of the genus Sinapis in the family Brassicaceae. It is found in the fields of North Africa, Asia and Europe. Pieris rapae, the small white butterfly, and Pieris napi, the green veined white butterfly are significant consumers of charlock during their larval stages.

<i>Rosa chinensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Rosa chinensis, known commonly as the China rose, Chinese rose, or Bengal rose, is a member of the genus Rosa native to Southwest China in Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan Provinces. The first publication of Rosa chinensis was in 1768 by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin in Observationum Botanicarum, 3, p. 7 & plate 55.

<i>Arabis hirsuta</i> Species of plant

Arabis hirsuta, known as hairy rock-cress, is a flowering plant of the genus Arabis in the family Brassicaceae. In previous North American works, this species has been broadly defined to include plants native to Europe, Asia, and the northern half of North America, but is now more often restricted to a narrower subgroup restricted to Europe.

<i>Diplotaxis muralis</i> Species of plant

Diplotaxis muralis, the annual wall-rocket, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. This plant is native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, but it is found throughout the temperate world, where it has naturalized. This is an erect mustard-like plant rarely reaching half a meter in height. It has lobed leaves and its stems are topped with dense inflorescences of yellow, or occasionally light purple, flowers with small oval petals and large anthers. The fruit is a podlike silique two to four centimeters long.

<i>Diplotaxis tenuifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Diplotaxis tenuifolia is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name perennial wall-rocket. It is native to Europe and West Asia, where it grows on disturbed ground and roadsides, and it can now be found throughout much of the temperate world where it has naturalized. In recent years it has increasingly been cultivated to produce salad leaves, which are marketed as wild rocket in Britain or arugula in the US. It is easily confused with garden rocket, which has similar uses.

<i>Andrena agilissima</i> Species of bee

Andrena agilissima is a species of mining bee. They are present in most of Europe, the Near East and North Africa and can be found from April through July. Andrena agilissima is an oligolectic species, feeding only on the pollen of a few genera of Cruciferous vegetables.

<i>Cereus</i> (plant) Genus of cacti

Cereus ( "serious") is a genus of cacti including around 33 species of large columnar cacti from South America. The name is derived from Greek (κηρός) and Latin words meaning "wax", "torch" or "candle". Cereus was one of the first cactus genera to be described; the circumscription varies depending on the authority. The term "cereus" is also sometimes used for a ceroid cactus, any cactus with a very elongated body, including columnar growth cacti and epiphytic cacti.

Iris dolichosiphon is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Pseudoregelia. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from China and Bhutan. It has long, thin dark green leaves, very short stem, and dark blue, purple, or violet flowers. That are mottled with white. It has thick white/orange beards. It has one subspecies, Iris dolichosiphon subsp. orientalis, from China, India and Burma. It has similar flowers. They are cultivated as ornamental plants in temperate regions

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black radish</span> Species of flowering plant

The black radish is a root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae and is a variety of winter radish. It is also called Black Spanish radish or Erfurter radish.

The agricultural weed syndrome is the set of common traits which make a plant a successful agricultural weed. Most of these traits are not, themselves, phenotypes but are instead methods of rapid adaptation. So equipped, plants of various origins - invasives, natives, mildly successful marginal weeds of agriculture, weeds of other settings - accumulate other characteristics which allow them to compete in an environment with a high degree of human management.

References

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