Rapeseed (
Brassica napus), also known as
rape,
oilseed rape,
rapa,
rappi,
rapaseed (and, in the case of one particular group of
cultivars,
canola), is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family
Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), (:
Mandarin Pinyin yóucài;
Cantonese:
yau choy) consumed in
China and
Southern Africa as a vegetable. The name derives from the
Latin for
turnip,
rapa or
rapum, and is first recorded in
English at the end of the 14th century. Older writers usually distinguished the turnip and rape by the adjectives 'round' and 'long' (-'rooted'), respectively.
Rutabagas,
Brassica napobrassica, are sometimes considered a variety of
B. napus. Some botanists also include the closely related
B. campestris within
B. napus.