Edible plant - novice Season - Leaves: spring. Flowers: summer. Fruits: summer to autumn Common names Wild radish, jointed radish, white charlock, wild charlock, jointed wild radish, runch, cadlock, wild turnip, white weed, wild kale
Scientific name meaning: Both names originate from the Greek word for radish: Raphane
Habitat  Cultivated land and wasteland. It is not a UK native but been present for several thousand years. |
Overall structure  A basal rosette of leaves forms followed by tall flowers stalks that often bend over if not supported. |
Leaves  The leaves of wild radish can reach 60cm in length. They are deeply pinnatifid and hairy. |
Stem  The flower stems appear in late spring to autumn. They are a few millimetres thick and can reach up to 1m tall - especially if they are within tall growing crops. If not within a crop, they stem is more likely to reach a maximum hieght of 50cm. |
Flowers  The flowers are white and have four spoon-shaped petals. They appear in racemes in summer and can be white, lilac or yellow. It is not unusual for the petals to have more darkly coloured veins. |
Seeds  The green seed pods that follow in summer and early autumn are pinched in between each individual seed, giving a jointed appearance. They terminate in a long thin spike that is often called a beak. |
Possible lookalikes  Other members of the brassica family could be confused with wild radish but its jointed seed pods and huge leaves of are distinctive. There are other sub species of wild radish, such as the deep yellow-flowered sea radish (Raphanus raphanistrum ssp maritimus), pictured, but there are also edible.
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Use as a food All parts of wild radish are edible and they are hot and peppery. The leaves can be eaten cooked or raw but are best when young before the become bitter.
The flowers can be added to salads.
The seeds pods can be eaten raw or cooked when immature - they become tough as they ripen. When ripe, the seed can be used as a spice or ground into a powder to make a mustard-like paste.
The root tastes similar to a radish but its thick skin needs to be removed first. Remember that digging up of a plant on common land or without the landowner's permission on private land is illegal. Use in herbal medicine and medicine Has been used to treat rheumatism
The bulb is believed to be the most active part
If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner.
Hazards Can cause stomach upsets in some people if large amounts are consumed
Other uses None known Importance to other species The flowers are important to pollinators
Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!
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