rape

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin rāpa, pl. of rāpum, turnip.]

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Rape (Brassica napus) (credit: Ingmar Holmasen)

Annual plant (Brassica napus) of the mustard family, native to Europe. This 1-ft-tall (30-cm) plant has a long, thin taproot; smooth, bluish-green, deeply scalloped leaves; and clusters of yellow flowers. Each round, elongated seedpod has a short beak and contains many seeds. The seeds yield an oil (rapeseed oil, or canola) that is the lowest in saturated fat of any edible oil, making it popular for use in cooking. It is also used as an ingredient in soap and margarine and as a lamp fuel.

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Rape (Brassica napus) and turnip rape (B. campestris) plants are members of the Cruciferae family. The name is derived from the Latin rapum, meaning “turnip,” to which these plants are closely related. The aerial portions of rape plants have been bred to produce oilseeds, fodder, and vegetable crops. Rapeseed is small, round, and usually black, although varieties with yellow seed coats are also grown.

The seeds contain over 40% oil. Rapeseed contributes approximately 10–12% of the world's total edible vegetable oil supply and is one of the few edible oilseed crops that can be produced in northern Canada, Europe, and Asia, or, as a cool season crop, in subtropical areas. Rapeseed meal, the by-product of oilseed extraction, is high-quality protein feed supplement for livestock and poultry. In some Asian countries it is also used as a fertilizer and soil conditioner for specialty crops such as tobacco and citrus fruits. Rape is widely used for forage. In some countries the whole plant is cut and fed to cattle. See also Capparales; Turnip.

Brassica napus, also known as cole, coleseed, or colza. Grown for its seed, as source of oil for both industrial and food use. Varieties low in erucic acid are termed ‘0’ or single low; varieties also low in glucosinolates are termed ‘00’ or double low, both these being undesirable constituents of ordinary rapeseed. Oil is very rich in mono-unsaturates (60%), contains 33% polyunsaturates, and only 7% saturates.