SEA RADISH

Raphanus raphanistrum ssp. maritimus

Cabbage Family [Brassicaceae]

month8may month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8aug month8sep month8sept month8oct

status
statusZnative
flower
flower8yellow
morph
morph8actino
petals
petalsZ4
stem
stem8round
sex
sexZbisexual

24th June 2009, Coastline, Carnforth, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
Spreading along an embankment facing on to the sea.


24th June 2009, Coastline, Carnforth, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
A dense population. It is a tall plant at up 1.5m in height.


31st May 2007, Angerton Point, Duddon Estuary, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Sprawling about always near the sea.


7th May 2017, roadside sand dunes, Southport, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
Vying for attention by the roadside.


31st May 2007, Angerton Point, Duddon Estuary, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
At up to 1.5m high Sea Radish is taller than the 25 to 75cm height of Wild Radish. The main stem makes an attempt to grow upright, branches horizontal to 70° slightly upwards.


31st May 2007, Angerton Point, Duddon Estuary, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Yellow flowers in bunches near the ends of each branch.


22nd May 2015, near Hightown, Sefton Coast, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
This specimen has sepal cups which are only just opening, with the yellow flowers just peeping through.


7th May 2017, roadside sand dunes, Southport, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
The flower buds are about to open and display their yellow flowers.


7th May 2017, roadside sand dunes, Southport, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
As-yet un-opened flower buds displaying their green sepals which have tapering spikes half-way up. It has glandular hairs on the upper part of the flower buds, but also very unusually has some on the stem(?).


31st May 2007, Angerton Point, Duddon Estuary, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Flower stems are reddish with scattered pimples, each having a single short backwards-pointing hair. The flower buds are green with the same pimples but forwardly directed short hairs. Sepal tubes and flower buds both have splotches of redness near the base.


28th Sept 2008, Foxfield, Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
The trichomes in close-up (although they might not sting like those of Stinging Nettle do?)


31st May 2007, Foxfield, Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD


22nd May 2015, near Hightown, Sefton Coast, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
The fruits on this specimen are still very new and narrow having not yet matured to seed-containing pods.


3rd June 2010, Walney Island, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD


31st May 2007, Angerton Point, Duddon Estuary, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Four deep yellow and long petals narrower near the centre, with four yellower stamens.


31st May 2007, Angerton Point, Duddon Estuary, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Petals have faint darker-yellow veins. The long sepal tube has pimples with short hairs at the summit.


14th June 2011, Birkdale Dunes, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Here is a specimen which has maturing seed pods. On Sea Radish there are only up to a maximum of 5 bulges (aka developing seeds) in a pod (whereas Wild Radish can have between 3 and 8 pods)


22nd June 2016, Nr. Marshside, Southport, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
More mature seed pods, again there are only potentially 1 to 5 seeds (here in practice only 1 to 4). They have a long slowly tapering 'beak' ending in tiny discoidal stigma differing in shape from that of Wild Radish.


31st May 2007, Angerton Point, Duddon Estuary, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Higher up, the stem leaves are pinnate (but with fewer leaflets than those further down the stem) all of which are much narrower, and the terminal leaflet is pointedly lobed. Forwardly directed hairs on cylindrical pimples.


29th June 2014, marina, Southport, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
It is an biennial/perennial. Only the basal rosettes grow in the first year, the rest of the plant with flowers grows in the next and/or subsequent years. It is space-filling, the leaves are smaller towards the centre and get larger further away so as to maximise the light gathering potential, and also to shade out any competitors.


29th June 2014, marina, Southport, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Basal rosette in the plants first year of the plants two-year lifetime.


8th Sept 2015, nr. Marshside, Southport, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
Another basal rosette with more leaflets sprouting.


31st May 2007, Angerton Point, Duddon Estuary, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Leaves pinnate, matt, light-green and serrately-toothed, twice as long as broad, clasping the stem with an auricle each side of the stem. The terminal leaflet is longer, lobed and toothed. Lower stems hairy.


23rd April 2009, Ventnor, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
Another specimen with differently-shaped leaves at the bottom (which presumably are not the basal leaves which may now have gone from last year) to those nearer the top.


23rd April 2009, Ventnor, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
A closer view of the leaves.


9th Sept 2014, a garden, unknown place. Photo: © Ian Preddy
From the shape of the seed pods (distinctly oval), by their deep notch between them and also by their lowish number (between 1 to 5 is about right for Sea Radish) these are not seed pods of Garden Radish (Raphanus sativus) which usually has between 5 to 12 bulges and which are barely constricted between adjacent bulges.


9th Sept 2014, a garden, unknown place. Photo: © Ian Preddy
The pod at bottom right has a very deep constriction between the pods, commensurate with it being of Sea Radish rather than Garden Radish (Raphanus sativus) (although it might just be possible that it is a hybrid between the two?)


Not to be confused with : Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) [a plant with similar name in the same family as differing genus]

Hybridizes with :

  • Wild Radish to produce Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. maritimus × subsp. raphanistrum (no common name)
  • Garden Raddish (Raphanus × sativus) in complicated ways.

Some similarities to : Isle of Man Cabbage, which also has four yellow petals, but with Isle of Man Cabbage the petals are much rounder rather than long, and thin. There are no pimples with hairs atop (most likely trichomes). And Isle of Man Cabbage grows to only half the height (60cm), and the pinnate leaves are all lobed and without serrated teeth and are also grey green. Also the seed pods are long and thin on Isle of Man Cabbage, whereas they are conspicuously beaded with spherical lumps on Sea Radish.

Lundy Cabbage, another yellow-flowered member of the Cabbage Family with which it may possibly be confused, is much rarer, only found on Lundy Isle, has flowers of a deeper yellow and is only a short-lived perennial.

Wallflower Cabbage is yellow but taller, but grows mainly in Monmouthshire.

Other yellow Brassicas with which it may be mistaken for from afar: Oil-Seed Rape, Wild Turnip, Wild Cabbage, Black Mustard, Hoary Mustard, Charlock, Hoary Mustard, White Mustard, Bastard Cabbage, Steppe Cabbage, and many many more...

Grows on bare ground near the sea. Garden Radish, with which it may possibly be confused by name, is much shorter, less than a foot in height, and the flowers, never yellow, are usually white or lilac; the pods hardly beaded.


USE BY BUTTERFLIES
LAYS EGGS ON CATERPILLAR CHRYSALIS BUTTERFLY
Orange-tip



  Raphanus raphanistrum ssp. maritimus  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Brassicaceae  

Distribution
 family8Cabbage family8Brassicaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Raphanus
Raphanus
(Radishes)

SEA RADISH

Raphanus raphanistrum ssp. maritimus

Cabbage Family [Brassicaceae]

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