Radish

Evolution

The descriptive Greek name of the genus "Raphanus" means "quickly appearing" and refers to the rapid germination of these plants. "Raphanistrum", from the same Greek root, is an old name once used for this genus. The common name "radish" is derived from Latin "radix". The radish has been used over many centuries.

Although the radish was a well-established crop in Hellenistic and Roman times, which leads to the assumption that it was brought into cultivation at an earlier time, Zohary and Hopf note that "there are almost no archeological records available" to help determine its earlier history and domestication. Wild forms of the radish and its relatives, the mustards and turnip, can be found over west Asia and Europe, suggesting that their domestication took place somewhere in that area. However Zohary and Hopf conclude, "Suggestions as to the origins of these plants are necessarily based on linguistic considerations."

Cultural

Citizens of Oaxaca, Mexico, celebrate the radish in a festival called Noche de los Rábanos on December 23 as a part of Christmas celebrations. Locals carve religious and popular figures out of radishes and display them in the town square.