176 



Boot Crops 



(Fig. 82), with a long bealv and 1 to 6 seeds in the thickened 

 part : seeds brown, variable in size and shape, globular-angular, 

 large ones about % in. long and weighing 8 to 10 mg., the small 

 ones only about half as heavy ; longevity about 5 j'ears. — Prob- 

 ably Asian, but known only as a cultigen (in cultivation and 

 frequently escaped). Thought to be a development from R. 

 Raphanistrtim, Linn., the charlock, a weedy plant with slender 

 taproot, yellow flowers fading to white or violet, and slender 

 furrowed pods with marked constrictions between the seeds : 

 this plant is now widely spread, and is an introduced weed in 

 North America. The radish is variable in the size, season, 

 shape and color of its tuberous roots (the word radish is con- 

 nected with the Latin radix, root), and botanical groups are 

 usually defined in terms of these characters; better botanical 

 characters, however, reside in the leaves and pods. There are 

 marked groups in the pinnate division of the leaves, and one 

 group in which the leaves are undivided. 



Var. longipinnatus, Bailey, Gent. Herb, i, 25. 1920. Plant 

 large and stout : radical leaves elongated and narrow, some- 

 times 2 ft. long, the leaflets 8 to 12 or more pairs : root large 

 and long, usually a winter radish. — Apparently most of the 

 oriental winter radishes belong here (Fig. S3). 



Yar. parviplnnatus, Bailey, I.e. Plant slender, with large 

 root : leaves small, sometimes with very slender divisions and 

 sometimes merely lobed : pod slender, nodose, with a very long 

 beak. — India and Japan; apparently not cult, in this country 

 (Figs. 84, 85). 



Var. nonpinnatus, Bailey, I.e. Leaves entire, the radical 

 ones obovate and on the stem oval or oblong, the margins entire 

 or obscurely crenate-dentate. — China, not recognized in this 

 country (Fig. 86). 



Var. caudatus, Alef. Landw. Fl. 258. 1868. (R. caudatus, 

 Linn. Mant. i, 95. 1767.) Rat-tailed Radish. Pods rather 

 than root greatly developed, sometimes more than 1 ft. long, 

 curved and sometimes twisted (Fig. 87). — The young pods are 

 the edible parts, sometimes pickled and sometimes eaten raw 



