Might it be Brassica napus, common name Rape. On the mainland of U.K the farm field are yellow with it from May. Sadly it doesn't just stay in the field as a crop for Rape seed , but seeds inself around onto road side verges, overwhelming some less robust native wild flowers.
Sounds like a bizarre common name... Seriously, does it "rape" the land of nutrients or something? Ed
It is a weird name. Google to the rescue again for answers!!! see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed In some ways it can look quite cheerful in spring, but so very alien to the gentle rolling landscape, with the differing shades of green ,that really I wish it wasn't there.
In Canada it was decided that the name "rape" sounded bad and so although the name has been around for hundreds of years we now call it "canola".
'Canola' is a cultivar group of Oilseed Rape, not the species as a whole. It just covers cultivars with a low acid content.
CANadian Oilseed Low Acid. or so they said. The marketing guys came up with more than one justification for the new name, but the key was to get rid of "rapeseed". When I was a kid my dad used to point out the fields as we drove and there was lots of rape growing, but I have not heard the term for a few decades.
Latin rapa rapum, turnip. Now try the discussion about what do you mean by turnip; growing up in England it was a small white root vegetable, living in Scotland it's a large,orange root vegetable,which as a child I knew as swede. Agree the plant is oilseed rape, nasty stuff, makes me sneeze.
Huh, down here we call the little bit of oilseed rape we grow Canola (most probably because we grow Canadian stock), a Turnip (Rabano grande or Rabano blanco) is a large white tuber the size of a small child's head, and with a purple blush on the top near the collards, and a Parsnip (Zanahoria blanco) is what you call a Swede. And we also have a parsnip-looking tuber called a Malloca which is in fact oxalis of some sort. Rabanos here, which are derived etymologically directly from the latin rapa rapum, are radishes. However: turnips, radishes, mustard, and rapeseed / canola are all in the same family - the Brassicaceae, whence the common names for their varieties.
I knew I was going to start something. English turnips have the purple shoulders, perhaps they are harvested small, fist sized, and could grow larger in different growing conditions? Swede, neeps in Scotland, cattle food in lots of places, rutabaga for some people? Supposedly essential eating with haggis, but the last few haggi we have eaten, we've cheerfully ommitted the neeps. But not the tatties.
How on earth did we go down this avenue!!! When I make Scotch Broth I always include Swede (Neeps.) Turnips just wouldn't be the same!
Neeps are essential to the true haggis experience, IMHO. My nan swore by 'em, and I've never had haggis without. Bleagh. I've never been a big fan of neeps, myself. This said, boiled neep with white turnip, carrot, and a bit of potato, mooshed into a glorp with some cheese, is very tasty. Luddite - I think this started when Nic mentioned that Turnip is a highly variable term when it comes to Cruciferous veggies. But meh! it's an interesting plant-based convo.
Is this related to my wild radish that is a total ferral here, The goats are not even too fond of it given what they usually eat. http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&ibra=all&card=H06 Liz
Yes, essential to true haggis experience, but cooking veg that none of the family like is pointless. We eat a lot of haggis in the winter,there's a particular type of dreich day when it's the ideal supper, and steamed over the potatoes is easy. Swede mashed with carrots is another classic, butter and black pepper essential. Are brassicas indigenous to all continents, or is Liz's wild radish introduced?
I'd say probably introduced - the family might be cosmopolitan, but it's concentrated in Northern Temperate zones, especially the Med. Ecuador has no native Brassica (at least according to TROPICOS' Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador), and my suspicion is that Australia may be the same way - our flora in some ways are remarkably similar.
My friend Magnus has taken offense at this talk about the mashing of Swedes. They may not do well in soccer (a.k.a football) but they do well in hockey.
Yes, but considering their environment that makes sense. At least I wasn't advocating extreme violence against Kohlrabi.
Calling wild mustard "canola" is more politically correct than accusing the plants of "rape". Thank those clever marketing guys for their portmanteau. From your description I was expecting to see a "lazy boy plant"!!!
