radish

radish

1. any of various plants of the genus Raphanus, esp R. sativus of Europe and Asia, cultivated for its edible root: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)

2. the root of this plant, which has a pungent taste and is eaten raw in salads

3. wild radish another name for white charlock

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

radish

radish

radish

Edible root in Brassicaceae family. It is said the builders of the great pyramids were fed radishes, onions and garlic. High in sulfur, silicon, vit C. Radishes are GREAT for skin because of the silica and sulfur. Used in Russia for thyroid problems (both hypo and hyperthyroidism) because it balances the thyroid hormones and brings people to proper weight. High in folic acid, which strengthens nerves. Used for cleaning kidneys and dissolving kidney stones. Lots of cancer-protection from carotene. Radishes are strong diuretics that cleanse the system, especially liver and gallbladder. Lots of iron. Flower colors vary depending on the type, and have a peppery taste. Can sprout from seed to small plant in as little as 3 days. Radishes serve as companion plants for many other species, because of their ability to function as a trap crop against pests, which attack the leaves, but the root remains healthy and can be harvested later. Radish seeds grow in pods and are edible, sometimes used as a crunchy, spicy addition to salads. Some varieties are grown specifically for their seeds or seed pods, rather than their roots. The entire plant is edible raw or steamed- sprout, leaf, seeds, root. Taste great thinly sliced and marinated in apple cider vinegar.

Edible Plant Guide © 2012 Markus Rothkranz

radish

[′rad·ish]

(botany)

Raphanus sativus.

An annual or biennial crucifer belonging to the order Capparales.

The edible, thickened hypocotyl of the plant.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Radish

 

(Raphanus sativus), a vegetable plant of the family Cruciferae. There are annual varieties (European varieties), which form roots and seeds in the year in which they are planted, and biennial varieties (Chinese, Japanese, and winter varieties), which form roots in the first year and seeds in the second year. In the USSR, the European varieties are most commonly cultivated. The leaves are strongly or only slightly dissected; in the Chinese varieties they are sometimes entire. Most of the European varieties have small roots (7–20 g), which range in shape from round-flat to elongate-cylindrical. The roots are red, pink, white, violet, or yellow. The vitamin C content is 25–30 mg percent in the roots and 50–60 mg percent in the leaves. The roots are usually eaten fresh in salads, as are the young leaves of the slightly pubescent varieties. The flowers, which are white, pink, or lilac, bloom 50 to 70 days after planting. The fruits are indehiscent siliques measuring 2.5–7.5 cm in length.

Radishes are cold resistant and cross-pollinating. At temperatures greater than 20°C they bolt and do not form roots. The best soils for growing radishes are friable sandy loams with a large amount of organic matter and a weakly acidic or neutral pH. The plants are cultivated in greenhouses (planted after January 20; harvest within 45 days), in hotbeds, and in heated or open soil. In the USSR the best varieties are Zaria, Iygeva 169, Teplichnyi, and Rannii Krasnyi for protected soil and Zaria, Rozovo-Krasnyi, Novinka 515, and Krasnyi Velikan for open soil. The average yield is 20 bunches per sq m in protected soil and 60,000 bunches per hectare in open soil.

N. A. NIKONOVA

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.