wild radish

6.1

A plant like a radish with yellow or pale purple flowers and long seed pods

noun
/waɪld ˈrædɪʃ/

: rábano silvestre

Many farmers consider wild radishes to be weeds.

Examples

Gardeners struggle to control wild radish because of its rapid growth and prolific seed production.
Wild radish often invades cereal crop fields, competing with the desired plants for nutrients.
The flowers of the wild radish can range from pale yellow to light mauve, adding color to the meadows.
The wild radish grows abundantly in fields.
In her garden, she discovered some wild radish plants with vibrant yellow flowers.
The salad was topped with colorful wild radish blossoms for extra flavor.
Farmers often pull out wild radish from their fields because it can take over space meant for crops.

Synonyms

runch

vswild radish

1 9.9

A wild plant like mustard with yellow, white, or purple flowers often seen as a weed

is the more formal species label sometimes shown alongside the common name

Raphanus raphanistrum

vswild radish

Specialized

9.9

A wild radish plant with yellow, white, or purple flowers and seed pods that often grows as a weed

is the common descriptive name used instead of the Latin label

Surface Forms

wild radish singular

wild radishes plural

Morphology

wild + radish

The meaning 'a radish that grows in the wild' is directly and compositionally derived from 'wild' (not domesticated) + 'radish' (the root vegetable); it denotes a non-cultivated radish or weed. This straightforward compound follows common language patterns and requires no idiomatic knowledge, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

Wild radish is a plain, literal name: radish is a common root plant and wild shows it grows by itself in fields and roadsides. Because it often spreads quickly and is not planted by gardeners, people call it a 'weed' today.