Mediterranean Turnip - introduced (*Brassica tournefortii)

Family: Brassicaceae (Cabbage and turnip family).

Native of Europe.

Occurrence: Uncommon in Central Victoria. It is more common in the Mallee.

Identification:

• the plant is bristly, particularly at the base of the plant
• the leaves at the base have 4 to 10 lateral lobes
• the fruit are long and often curved, and are constricted between the seeds
• the fruit end in a long (1 to 2 cm) beak
• the seeds are reddish-brown.

Name: tournefortii: Joseph de Tournefort, 17th century professor of Botany, Paris.

Photo: All: Mediterranean Turnip. Bannerton.