Wild radish is a grassy poisonous annual plant that populates the fields in the form of a weed. It is unpretentious to climate and soil, distributed over almost all continents, most often found in the forest zone of Europe, as well as in meadows, along roads, in wastelands and even on urban lawns. It grows, as a rule, in spring and summer, but it also occurs in autumn, at an air temperature of + 2-4 degrees C.
Wild plant - wild radish
The cruciferous family is a plant that is pollinated by insects. Therefore, many of them smell and have nectar. Our herbaceous plant belongs to this family.
It has a fairly high spread straight stalk (reaches 50-60 cm in height), covered with stiff hairs. Leaf-shaped, growing alternately. The root system is in the form of a shortened root. The color of the flowers is white, yellowish, rarely purplish-white. In a weed, the petals grow in a cross and consist of one pistil and six stamens. The length of the fruit, which ripens in the fall in the form of a pod, dividing into 5-10 segments, can reach 8 cm. The seeds are in pods of an oval shape with a reddish hue.
Reproduction occurs by seeds - from 150 to 300 per plant. Seeds germinate from a depth of no more than 3-4 cm in the second year. In autumn, they are covered with a dense shell, in which they tolerate winter well, and continue to rise in spring.
Scientists have proven that in the soil the seed is able to maintain its viability for up to 10 years. Wild radish blooms in May-September, bears fruit in July-October. In the phases of seedlings and the beginning of fruiting, it withstands frosts to –11 ° C, but does not overwinter.
The plant does a lot of damage in fertile fields, spreads well in the beds, preventing vegetable crops from germinating.
The properties
Wild radish is endowed with toxic properties in blooming form, and only when dried loses them. Outwardly similar to a sowing radish, their taste is also similar, only the consequences of taking wild radish (inflorescences) are deplorable, namely: severe poisoning occurs, the symptoms of which are bright urine, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, tachycardia, and irreversible changes in the kidneys. In this case, it is necessary to provide first aid: to rinse the stomach and, if there is deterioration in the cardiovascular system, then it is imperative to take heart-based drugs.
In some countries, for example in England, the stems of this plant are used in food in the form of salads, soups and even seasonings, but after processing with temperature they are not suitable for this, as they have a bitter taste. In dried form they are used to make seasonings.
Closer to autumn, when the pods ripen, the weed becomes dangerous for animals: secreting mustard oil, it can lead to acute damage to the gastrointestinal tract. The plant looks like field mustard. Possible poisoning of rabbits after feeding grass from the fields.
However, radish has excellent melliferous properties - it gives a large amount of nectar and pollen for bees. In folk medicine, a decoction of it was used as an expectorant. The beneficial properties include the content of vitamin C in the aerial part of the weed, and in the seeds - 20-32% of fatty oil.
There is a constant struggle against this weed, as they did not have time to sow bread and plant potatoes - wild radish is already outgrowing vegetable crops, which annoys gardeners a lot. Herbicides can be used to control its reproduction on cultivated soils. The active substances of these agents can be very diverse.
Finally, we will share with you an interesting and simple dish that can be prepared from this plant.
Wild Radish Salad Recipe
Wash the leaves (200 g), cut, put in a deep plate. Grind the yolks (2 eggs) with sour cream (1/2 cup), sugar (1 tablespoon), vinegar (1 tablespoon), sunflower oil (1 tablespoon) and salt. Beat the whole mass and pour it over the leaves, sprinkle with chopped parsley, dill and onion on top.
