Garden Radish
Description: This introduced annual or biennial plant consists of a rosette of leaves; somewhat later, it bolts and produces flowering stems up to 2½' tall. The basal leaves are up to 7" long and 2½" across; they are oblanceolate, coarsely crenate, and pinnately lobed. These lobes may be shallow or deep; the terminal lobe is always the largest. The surface of the basal leaves is usually rough from stiff hairs.
The central stem is often reddish at the base, but light green elsewhere; it is either glabrous or covered with scattered stiff hairs. The upper side stems are very similar, except that there is often a red ring where they branch from the central stem. The alternate leaves on the stems are similar in appearance to the basal leaves, except that they are smaller, less likely to be deeply lobed, and narrowly ovate in shape. The central and upper stems terminate in racemes of flowers. Each flower is about 1/3" across, consisting of 4 pink or light purple petals, 4 light green sepals that are linear-oblong, a central pistil, and several stamens with yellow anthers. The blooming period occurs during the summer and lasts about 1–1½ months. Each flower is replaced by a silique that contains 2-3 seeds. This silique is rather short and spongy, but it has a long beak. There is very little constriction between the seeds, if any. The seeds are oval-shaped, slightly flattened, and reddish brown. The root system consists of a stout taproot that is somewhat fleshy. It is often reddish, but other color forms occur. This plant spreads by reseeding itself.
Copyright © 2003-2012 by John Hilty All rights reserved.
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