I ran into an interesting wildflower while hiking in Chino Hills State Park —Raphanus raphanistrum, better known as wild radish. You’ve probably seen it without realizing it: tall, scruffy stems with four-petaled flowers that can be white, purple, pale yellow, or even a mix of shades on a single petal. It turns out this plant pops up almost everywhere in the world, spreading quickly and sometimes pushing into habitats where it’s not exactly welcome.
Wild radish grows like an annual weed with a skinny taproot, kind of like a tough, miniature version of the garden radish. It’s surprisingly hardy too. Even a hard freeze just slows it down for a bit before it starts blooming again. The flowers are a reliable snack stop for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies, which explains why it was buzzing with life along the trail.
What surprised me most is that most tender parts of the plant are actually edible. The leaves and flowers have a peppery kick, and the young seed pods are crunchy and surprisingly good. The root, though—don’t get your hopes up; it’s usually too fibrous to enjoy.
當我在奇諾崗州立公園健行時，偶然發現了一種有趣的野花－野蘿蔔。你可能看過它，只是沒注意到：高高的、略顯雜亂的莖稈上開著四瓣花，顏色可以是白色、紫色、淡黃色，甚至單片花瓣上可能混合著幾種顏色。原來這種植物幾乎遍布世界各地，繁殖速度極快，有時甚至會侵入一些它不歡迎的棲息地。
野蘿蔔像一年生雜草一樣生長，有著細長的直根，有點像是花園蘿蔔的迷你版，而且生命力頑強。它的生命力也出奇地強。即使遭遇嚴寒，也只是暫時減緩它的生長，之後便會再次開花。野蘿蔔的花朵是蜜蜂、蝴蝶和食蚜蠅的可靠食物來源，這也解釋了為什麼小徑兩旁總是生氣勃勃。
最讓我驚訝的是，這種植物的大部分嫩芽其實都可以吃。葉子和花朵略帶辛辣味，嫩嫩的種子莢口感爽脆，味道也出奇地好。不過，根部就別抱太大希望了；它通常纖維太多，難以下嚥。
Notes 筆記
- Raphanus raphanistrum, also known as wild radish, white charlock, or jointed charlock, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae.
- It spreads rapidly and has been introduced into most parts of the world, where it is regarded as a habitat-threatening invasive species in many areas.
- Wild radish grows as an annual or biennial plant, with a single taproot that resembles that of the cultivated radish but is less enlarged.
- It has basal leaves that are oblong-elliptic to spatula-shaped and hairy stems. The stems bear widely spaced, four-petalled flowers that vary in color—usually white to purple, but sometimes light orange to yellow—often with color shading within a single petal. Later, on a short stalk, it produces a segmented seed pod.
- It is frost-hardy, and even hard freezes only temporarily interrupt flowering.
- All tender parts of the plant are edible, though the roots are generally too tough to be palatable. The leaves and flowers have a spicy flavor or aftertaste. The seed pods can be eaten, as can the outer skin of the root after washing.
- 野蘿蔔又稱白芥菜或野油菜 ，是十字花科的一種開花植物。
- 它傳播迅速，已被引入世界大部分地區，在許多地區被視為威脅棲息地的入侵物種。
- 野蘿蔔是一年生或二年生植物，只有一個主根，與栽培蘿蔔的主根相似，但較小。
- 它的基生葉呈長橢圓形至匙形，莖被毛。莖上著生稀疏的四瓣花，花色多變，通常為白色至紫色，有時也呈淺橙色至黃色，且同一花瓣上常有深淺不一的顏色。之後，它會在短梗上結出分節的莢果。
- 它耐霜凍，即使是嚴寒天氣也只會暫時中斷開花。
- 這種植物所有嫩的部分都可以食用，但根部通常太硬，口感不佳。葉子和花略帶辛辣味或回味。種子莢可以食用，根部的外皮洗淨後也可以食用。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Raphanus raphanistrum
Plants Posts 植物的帖子
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