Brassica rapa

Turnip, field mustard, Field Mustard

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Turnip is a naturalized annual plant found in the California Floristic Province and southeastern deserts in disturbed areas at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from January to May, this plant produces yellow flowers about 6 to 11 millimeters long with distinctive petals. Growing 30 to 100 centimeters tall with erect stems that are simple or branched, it develops a robust and spreading habit. Its leaves are uniquely structured with basal leaves pinnately lobed and having 2 to 4 pairs of lateral lobes, with a wavy-dentate terminal lobe that clasps the stem. The plant produces elongated fruits 3 to 8 centimeters long that ascend or spread slightly above the foliage.

Habitat: Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Jan-May

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: CA-FP, SNE

California counties: El Dorado, Los Angeles, Marin, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, Ventura, Alameda, Contra Costa, Lake, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Humboldt, San Mateo, Monterey, Imperial, Placer, Yolo, Sutter, Amador, Colusa, Nevada, Alpine, Butte, Sierra, Madera, Santa Cruz, Napa, Plumas, Yuba, Del Norte, Mendocino, Mono, Siskiyou, Calaveras, Tulare, Kern, Tehama, Inyo, Trinity, San Benito, Stanislaus, Tuolumne

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