Practical
Plants

Brassica rapa campestris

Wild Turnip

an annual member of the Brassica genus in the family Brassicaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
annual
Height
0.75 m
Fertility
Self fertile, Bees, Self
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees, Self

Uses

Toxicity

Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The oil contained in the seed of some varieties of this species can be rich in erucic acid which is toxic. However, modern cultivars have been selected which are almost free of erucic acid.

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Leaves - raw or cooked. A strong radish/cabbage flavour. An edible oil is obtained from the seed, it is best when cold pressed[4]. Some varieties are rich in erucic acid which can be harmful[K].

Plant part
Leaves
Product or use
Oil

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The tuberous roots and seeds are considered to be antiscorbutic[6]. A rather strange report, the leaves are much more likely to contain reasonable quantities of vitamin C than the roots or seeds[K].

Product or use
Antiscorbutic

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The seed contains up to 45% of a semi-drying oil. It is used as a lubricant, luminant and in soap making[1][7][8][9][10][4].

Product or use
Oil

Environment

Range
Europe - Mediterranean. Naturalized in Britain[3].
Habitat
River banks, arable and waste land[3].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 7+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay, heavy clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Succeeds in full sun in a well-drained fertile preferably alkaline soil[2][5]. Succeeds in any reasonable soil but prefers one on the heavy side[2]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.8 to 8.3. This is the wild form of the turnip with a non-tuberous tap-root[3]. It is closely related to the cultivated forms that are grown for their edible oil-bearing seeds[3].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩

  2. Simons. New Vegetable Growers Handbook. Penguin 1977-00-00 ISBN 0-14-046-050-0

    ↩1↩2

  3. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  4. Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  5. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩

  6. Medicinal Plants of Nepal Dept. of Medicinal Plants. Nepal. 1993-00-00

    ↩

  7. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

  8. Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.

    ↩

  9. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

  10. Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00

    ↩

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