Brassica rapa var. nippo-oleifera; rape

Japanese: アブラナ(油菜) - アブラナ（英語表記）Brassica rapa var. nippo-oleifera; rape

It is a biennial or annual plant of the Brassicaceae family that has long been cultivated as a vegetable in fields and rice paddies as a second crop, and thinning and young leaves were used as food. The stem is about 1m tall and branches sparsely at the top. The leaves at the bottom have stalks and are large and pinnately lobed, but the leaves on the flower stalk are stalkless and clasp the stem. In March and April, yellow cross-shaped flowers bloom in racemes. These are known as rape flowers. There are four sepals and petals, and two of the six stamens are short. The fruit is a long, slender capsule with round, black seeds. The seeds contain about 43% oil, and rapeseed oil is extracted by squeezing the seeds, which is then refined and used as edible oil. The residue from squeezing the oil is called oil cake and is used as feed and fertilizer. Because the flowers are beautiful, there is a high demand for cut flowers, and it is also important as a source of honey. However, in recent years, another species from America, Brassica napus , is more widely grown.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

アブラナ科の二年草または一年草で，古くから野菜として畑や水田の裏作としてつくられ，間引き菜や若菜を食用とした。茎は高さ約 1m，上部でまばらに分枝する。葉は下部のものは柄があり大きく羽状に裂けるが，花茎につく葉は柄がなく茎を抱いている。3～4月に，総状花序に黄色の十字形の花を開く。いわゆる菜の花である。萼片，花弁ともに4枚，おしべは6本のうち2本が短い。果実は細長い蒴果で種子は丸く黒い。種子は約 43%の油を含み，しぼって菜種油をとり，さらに精製したものを白絞油といい食用にする。油をしぼったかすが油かすで，飼料や肥料に用いる。花が美しいので切り花の需要も多く，また蜂蜜の原料としても重要である。しかし，最近ではアメリカ産の別種セイヨウアブラナ B. napusのほうが多くつくられている。

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