Brassica napus

Swede rape, rapeseed, Rapeseed

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Swede rape is a naturalized annual found in the San Joaquin Valley and southern California coastal areas in disturbed areas and fields at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces yellow flowers 10 to 16 millimeters long with petals 6 to 9 millimeters wide. Growing with branched stems 30 to 130 centimeters tall, it has a glabrous or hairy appearance with a glaucous surface. Its leaves are distinctive, with basal leaves pinnately lobed up to 55 centimeters long and middle stem leaves featuring strongly lobed or clasping bases. The fruit develops as an ascending pod 5 to 10 centimeters long with a terminal segment 9 to 16 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, fields

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: SnJV, SCo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.