Rapeseed

Rapeseed (B. napus subsp. napus), also known as rape, oilseed rape, and, in the case of one particular group of cultivars, canola, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed. It is the third-largest source of vegetable oil and second-largest source of protein meal in the world. The term 'rape' derives from the Latin word for turnip, rapa or rapum, cognate with the Greek word hrapys. The species Brassica napus belongs to the flowering plant family Brassicaceae. Rapeseed is a subspecies with the autonym B. napus subsp. napus. It encompasses winter and spring oilseed, vegetable and fodder rape. Siberian kale is a distinct leaf rape form variety (B. napus var. pabularia) which used to be common as a winter-annual vegetable. The second subspecies of B. napus is B. napus subsp. rapifera (also subsp. napobrassica; the rutabaga, swede, or yellow turnip). Brassica napus grows to 100 cm (39 in) height with pinnatifid and glaucous lower leaves and with the upper leaves clasping the stem. Brassica napus can be distinguished from Brassica nigra by the upper leaves which do not clasp the stem, and from Brassica rapa by its smaller petals which are less than 13 mm (0.51 in) across. Rapeseed flowers are yellow and about 17 mm (0.67 in) across. They are radial and consist of four petals in a typical cross-form, alternating with four sepals. They have indeterminate racemose flowering starting at the lowest bud and growing upward in the following days. The flowers have two lateral stamens with short filaments, and four median stamens with longer filaments whose anthers split away from the flower's center upon flowering. The rapeseed pods are green and elongated siliquae during development that eventually ripen to brown. Each pod has two compartments separated by a inner central wall within which a row of oilseeds develop. The oilseeds are black and hard at maturity. In Northern Ireland, U K B. napus and B. rapa are recorded as escapes in roadside verges and waste ground. Rapeseed is grown for the production of animal feed, edible vegetable oils, and biodiesel. Rapeseed was the third-leading source of vegetable oil in the world in 2000, after soybean and palm oil. It is the world's second-leading source of protein meal after soybean.