WILD RADISH

Raphanus raphanistrum ssp. raphanistrum

Cabbage Family [Brassicaceae]  

month8May month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8Aug month8sep month8sept month8Oct

status
statusZarchaeophyte
flower
flower8white
inner
inner8purple
morph
morph8actino
petals
petalsZ4
stem
stem8round
sex
sexZbisexual

24th May 2016, Clieves Hills, Aughton, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
A vast expanse of Wild Radish in a large field - only a small portion of which appears in the photo.


24th May 2016, Clieves Hills, Aughton, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
Most of the flowers are of Wild Radish but there are some pinkish plants in the same field.


24th May 2016, Clieves Hills, Aughton, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
It is a fairly low-growing plant, with a height of between 25 to 75cm (as opposed to Sea Radish, which is another subspecies of Raphanus raphanistrum) which grows to 1.5m and has flowers which are always yellow). The flowers are usually white with dark-purple veins (but may also be pale yellow coloured with dark-purple veins or mauve with dark-purple veins).


24th May 2016, Clieves Hills, Aughton, Lancs. Photo: © RWD


10th Sept 2005, Whitwell, Isle of Wight. Photo: © Geoff Toone
It even grows on the sand amongst one of the Mayweeds.


10th Sept 2005, Whitwell, Isle of Wight. Photo: © Geoff Toone
Here are the lower leaves, but not the basal leaves which were there last yeat: it is a biennial plant.


10th Sept 2005, Whitwell, Isle of Wight. Photo: © Geoff Toone
At top and centre are two spikes of the fruit, which is heart-shaped and flattish.


25th April 2007, Sandown, Isle of Wight Photo: © Geoff Toone
Here are the basal leaves with one large lobe at the end and smaller and smaller pairs of side-lobes.


24th June 2006, Birmingham Canal Navigations. Photo: © RWD


30th Aug 2009, Irwell Vale, Philips Park, Salford. Photo: © RWD
Plant sparsely populated by short hairs.


30th Aug 2009, Irwell Vale, Philips Park, Saalford. Photo: © RWD
Un-opened flower, with buds and yellow-tipped seed pod.


30th Aug 2009, Irwell Vale, Philips Park, Salford. Photo: © RWD
The four white petals are widely spaced and interwoven by thin purple veins. The petals have a slightly greater size range than those of Sea Radish, namely 11 to 24mm long (as opposed to 15 to 22mm for Sea Radish). At 25 to 90mm the pods can be much larger than those of Sea Radish at just 15 to 55mm. The pods have between 3 to 8 'seeds' in (as opposed to just 1 to 5 for Sea Radish).


30th Aug 2009, Irwell Vale, Philips Park, Salford. Photo: © RWD
The sepal cup form a long narrow tube which has 4 teeth at the end.


30th Aug 2009, Irwell Vale, Philips Park, Salford. Photo: © RWD
The seed pod (here immature with no discernible slight bulges where the between (1) 3 to 8 (10) seeds lurk within) is about as long as its stalk.


24th May 2016, Clieves Hills, Aughton, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
There are 6 pale-green filaments which protrude beyond the sepal cup and have mustard-yellow anthers atop.


24th May 2016, Clieves Hills, Aughton, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
The petals of Wild Radish usually have the narrowest part just a little beyond the sepal cup broadening further out (whereas those of Garden Radish lack this constriction)


24th May 2016, Clieves Hills, Aughton, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
The conspicuous veins within the petals. The sepals on this specimen are narrower than on some other specimens letting us see the way the petals extend right to the tip of the flower stalk.


Unknown Date, possibly in Orkney. Photo: © Derek Mayes
A pale-cream coloured specimen with dark-green veins. The centre of the flower has 6 dark-yellow anthers in a small star formation with a central green discoidal stigma in the centre.


Wild Radish seems to be slowly disappearing from Britain, it is in retreat.

PHOTOS WANTED: the seed pods of Wild Radish.


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



  Raphanus raphanistrum ssp. raphanistrum  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Brassicaceae  

Distribution
family8Cabbage family8Brassicaea
 BSBI maps
genus8Raphanus
Raphanus
(Radishes)

WILD RADISH

Raphanus raphanistrum ssp. raphanistrum

Cabbage Family [Brassicaceae]  

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