Armoracia rusticana P.G. Gaertner, B. Meyer & J. Scherbius
Family
Cruciferae
Synonyms
Cochlearia armoracia L., Armoracia lapathifolia Gilibert, Nasturtium armoracia (L,) Fries.
Vernacular Names
| English | Horseradish. |
| Philippines | Kamunggay (Cebuano). |
| French | Cran, meredic, raifort sauvage. |
Geographical Distributions
Armoracia rusticana is believed to originate from southeastern Europe and western Asia where it has been cultivated since antiquity. It can now be found naturalised as an escape from cultivation in many temperate regions of the world. Its cultivation is most important in Europe and North America. In Southeast Asia, it is occasionally cultivated in mountainous areas, e.g. in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Description
Armoracia rusticana is an erect, perennial, hairless herb, up to 1.5 m tall and often grown as an annual. Its primary root (taproot) is thick, often several-headed, cylindrical to conical, up to 50 cm long, woody in wild plants while fleshy in cultivated plants, yellowish-white, developing long secondary roots and subterranean runners.
Its stem is single or multiple, straight, branched in upper part, ribbed and hollow.
The leaves are smooth or crinkled. The lower leaves are initially in rosette, long-petioled, ovate-oblong from an acute or cordate base, 30-100 cm long, irregularly crenate-lance-shaped and coarsely serrate. The leaves are arranged spirally with the lower ones petioled, often pinnatilobed-pinnatipartite while the higher ones gradually become subsessile, lance-shaped and crenate-serrate or subentire.
The inflorescence is a raceme, 20-40 cm long and many-flowered. The racemes are combined into a terminal panicle. The pedicel is erecto-patent, where it is 5-10 mm long in flower while up to 2 cm long in fruit. There are 4 sepals, which are 3 mm long and broadly ovate. There are 4 broadly obovate petals which are 5-7 mm long and white. There are 6 stamens where 4 of them are long. The disk glands unite into a ring. The pistil is with hairless ovary, short style and slightly lobed stigma.
The fruit is a silique, 4-6 mm long, spherical to broadly obovoid, abruptly contracted into the style and 2-valved. There are 1-6 seeds per fruit.
Ecology / Cultivation
Armoracia rusticana is suited for temperate climates and grows best in full sun to partial shade in a moist, rich, heavy soil of pH 6.8. A well-drained moisture-retentive loam is preferred. Sandy soils are not suitable, and neither are shallow clays with a hard pan. A. rusticana can only be cultivated in the tropics at altitudes above 1000 m. It easily survives severe winter conditions.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.13: Spices.
