wild radish

not listed

NNA - Not applicable

SNA - Not applicable

not listed

RS – State restricted weed seed

Wild radish is a 12″ to 24″ tall, erect, annual forb rising from a small, thick taproot. Initially, there is a rosette of basal leaves. Later, a stem is produced.

The stems are branched in the upper portion and usually covered with firm, stiff hairs.

The basal leaves are up to 8″ long and 2″ wide. They are oblong, two to four times longer than wide, to inversely egg-shaped, attached to the leaf stalk at the narrow end. They are divided into 5 to 15 oblong lobes with the lower lobes very small, the upper getting progressively larger, the largest lobe at the end. The upper leaves are alternate, smaller, often unlobed, and attached to the stem on short leaf stalks. All leaves are covered with short, stiff hairs.

The inflorescence is a cluster of stalked flowers at the end of each stem and branch.

The flower is ½″ to ¾″ in diameter on ¼″ to ¾″ long flower stalks. The petals are 4-parted, yellow, and prominently veined, eventually turning to white. They narrow abruptly near the base to a long claw. The flower stalks become erect when the flower matures.

The flower is replaced by a single fruit, a 1-celled pod, ¾″ to 1¼″ long with a ⅜″ to 1″ long beak-like tip. It stands erect on the already erect flower stalk. It has two segments. The lower segment is short and does not bear seeds. The upper segment contains 4 to 10 seeds in a single row. It is thick and cylindrical when fresh, prominently ribbed and dented between the seeds when dry. To disperse its seeds it breaks into fragments between the 1-seeded segments.

12″ to 24″

Yellow, turning to white

Fields, roadsides, disturbed areas.

June to August

This and other mustards (family Brassicaceae) produce chemical compounds when cells are damaged that are toxic to most animals, fungi, and bacteria.

Sources

2, 3, 4, 7, 22, 30.

Native to northern Africa, western Asia, Europe, and Macaronesia. Introduced and naturalized in North America.

Uncommon in Minnesota

Plant

Inflorescence

Flower

Leaves