Swede
Brassica napobrassica
A large, firm-rooted brassica with a purple-shouldered, buff-yellow root and dense orange-yellow flesh. The crown carries a short ridged neck marked with old leaf scars, and the foliage is smooth, waxy and grey-green rather than bristly. Long grown as a field and garden crop, the roots are lifted through the colder months and eaten mashed, roasted or in stews, with a sweet, faintly peppery flavour that improves after frost.
A cultivated crop of open ground, grown on deep, firm, moisture-retentive soil throughout Britain and Ireland and traditionally a field staple in Scotland and northern England. Occasionally persists or self-sows on arable margins, verges and waste ground close to where it has been grown.
Generally safe cooked or raw. Like other brassicas the root contains glucosinolates, which in very large raw quantities may affect thyroid function; relevant mainly to anyone already advised to limit them. Roots overwintered in the ground can rot from the base, so discard any that are soft, hollow or discoloured. Plants growing on field margins and verges may have been sprayed.
Always use more than one reference to confirm a plant. You are responsible for what you choose to forage.
Root
Broad, slightly flattened to globe-shaped and often 10–20cm across, purple or bronze where the crown has sat above soil and buff-yellow below. Cut across, the flesh is uniformly yellow to orange rather than white.
Neck and leaf scars
A short, thickened, ridged neck sits at the top of the root, ringed with the scars of old leaf bases. This collar is the quickest way to separate a lifted root from a turnip, which has a smooth crown.
Leaves
Smooth, hairless and grey-green with a waxy bloom, deeply lobed towards the base and clasping the stem. Rough bristly hairs and a bright green colour indicate a different brassica.
Flowers
Four-petalled yellow crucifer flowers on a tall raceme in the second year. The unopened buds sit level with or above the open flowers, as in oilseed rape; where open flowers overtop the buds you are looking at Brassica rapa instead.
Updated 2026-08-08T06:52:52.022Z · Part of the shared Foragers Log catalogue · Vegetable