Daikon x Hairy Bittercress F1

Adaptation Projects
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In 2023 I grew domesticated brassicas in pollinating range of hairy bittercress (Cardamine Hirsuta) and took special effort to facilitate overlap in flowing times. This year I discovered a number of what seem to be Daikon x Hairy Bittercress hybrids. I do not recall growing radish in that spot last year, whereas hairy bittercress certainly grew there, with daikon not far away. This together with the characteristics and dispersement pattern of the plants leads me to believe the most likely parentage is a daikon father and hairy bittercress mother.

Will update this summary at some point with pictures and a little more info

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The flowers have begun to seed. Potential parents are at least individuals of both parent species, other F1s, and turnips. While the flowers more closely resemble daikon flowers, the siliques appear to me to be more like those of hairy bittercress. They have begun to turn reddish, as I have noticed the siliques of hairy bittercress do when ripe. If they shatter in the same way, we’ll have another year of at least some natural seed dispersement. If they do not shatter it might be a little more work to grow next years crop, but easier to be flexible with them

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This is a really exciting project to hear about. Keep us up to date. How has the edibility been impacted so far? Have you had a nibble to assess heat??

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Really interesting. Also keep in mind that both hairy bittercress and feral radish are often super invasive weeds in some places. Sure are in the San Francisco Bay area. Pretty flowers, and that’s how they get you. How bad could it be, you ask yourself, to let them grow. When the answer arrives, it’s too late.

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Will do :slightly_smiling_face:

I’ve had several. They are mustard-like in flavor. Unlike the mother plant I would not describe them as spicy.

I have a very fallible hunch that it will now cross with brassica rapa (AFAIK same ploidy as parents) or napus. Though I’m trying to let the plants figure out what they want to do without getting too invested in any particular outcome

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I think about this constantly. When I started sourcing ginger [lily] germplasm I was very careful to get only dwarf gingers with no track record of invasiveness I could find. I feel like Kahili ginger could be extremely problematic here with a little breeding work and/or climate change.

I am much less concerned about a root crop annual or biennial that has characteristics similar to what I’m working with. It’s not perennial, it’s not so expansive or productive it clobbers other plants, I wouldn’t expect the seeds to immediately be more interesting to wildlife than those of either parent, and it doesn’t spread by rhizome or stolon. If an edible radish or turnip showed up uninvited at somebody’s house, fed wildlife, then rotted down and fed the soil, that seems alright.

At least one characteristic of these plants would have to change significantly from how parents and relatives tend to operate before I would worry about releasing a new weed into local ecosystems that are already teeming with Asian bush honeysuckle, purple winter creeper, Bradford pear, crown vetch, garlic mustard, Japanese knotweed, and so on. Those are not species I work with or intend to work with. It’s very likely the plants I am working with would have an extremely hard time displacing native elements of a healthy ecosystem. I would not mind if they added a little diversity to a crown vetch monoculture.

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This is super facinating. If I a hybrid truly happend here than that means brassicaceae family even ignores tribes to cross pollinate with. You have to be absoultely sure that this is what happend because you might have just discovered a Scientific Breakthrough & should be rewarded accordingly.

Raphanus is more likely to hybridize with Brassica than it is with Cardamine, as there already exist Brassica x Raphanus Intergeneric hybrids known as Brassicoraphanus. Cardamine is more likely to cross with Watercress (Nasturium spp.) as those are closely related. It would be quite the jump to hybridize Daikon with Hairy Bittercress. Below is Phylogenic, may it help you on your goal!

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Speaking of which Thlaspi spp. (Penny Cress) & Allaria petiolata (Garlic Mustard) could potentially hybridize as they are in the same tribe! Just imagine improving the bitter Flavor of Garlic Mustard.

If you could show us Pictures I’d love to see what the hybrid looks like.

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Thanks for the info! I can’t speak with any authority to the breadth of the taxonomic jump or the odds. I’d defer to Burbank’s work as proof of concept that, if the jump is indeed that large, such a wide cross could happen. To the best of my fallible human knowledge, plants can’t and don’t read taxonomies.

I [very equivocally] believe this to be the cross I described in part because of the hybrid’s characteristics and my lack of familiarity with any obstacle that would prevent it. I’ll put some more pictures here as time allows but for now I’ve updated the top of the thread with a link to the original post

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I’d go a step further to say plants don’t need taxonomies at all. It’s a Man made concept that’s a useful tool/Guidline for us only. Nature will always laugh at you if you try to box it in. Taxonomy is simply humans trying to Categorize life so we can understand it better.

I’ve just seen the Pictures & they’re amazing. Very interesting Radish Phenotype, the leaves indeed look influenced by Cardamine hirsuta.
But the Pictures do Indeed look more Radish like, perhaps even 100% Raphanus sativus because the flowers look barley changed Morphologically but then again we haven’t done DNA Testing to 100% Confirm & Seal the case.

Cardamien hirsuta interestingly has 4 Stamens, Which is odd, considering most Brassicaceae Family Members have the Usual 6 Stamens like your Radish (Raphanus sativus) but this doesn’t rule out that Hybrid Occurred. Below is My Picture showing the Unusal Stamens upclose, Followed by Your Picture but Highlighting the 6 Stamens.

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I’d also love to see the Seed pods as Radish pods are Big, Fat & Deeply Constricted around the seeds inside, While Hairy Bittercress pods Shoot Seeds when Dry & Gently Touched. Both are very unique Meaning the Hybrid Offspring would be easier to spot.

I’d also love to see the root if it has been enlarged (This still wouldn’t rule out if a hybrid occurred but keep in mind many Wild/Feral Radish also have small roots).

Lastly you’ve described the greens as tasting very mustardy. What kind of Mustardy? Hairy Bittercress taste Earthy with zero Bitterness (Despite the Stupid Name). Radish Greens Taste Radishy & are usually hotter with zero Bitterness or Earthyness.

But considering all of this, your Radish (Raphanus sativus) is more likely to Hybridize with Anything in the Brassicae Tribe within Bigger Brassicaceae Family. Crops such as Mustards/Kale/Broccoli/Cabbage (Brassica spp.), Radish (Raphanus sativus), Arugula (Eruca versicaria), Sea Kale (Crambe spp.), White Mustard (Sinapis spp.), Highway Mustard (Coincya spp.), Dogmustard (Erucastrum spp.), Purple Mistress (Moricandia), Searocket (Cakile spp.), Pink Mustard (Erucaria spp.), and Many More!

If you had any of these growing nearby while your Daikon Radish was Flowering than perhaps it’s one of these that it crossed with, or it could just be the Natural Variation within the Raphanus sativus species alone. Radishes are HIGHLY Polymorphic (Meaning super Diverse Shapes, Colors, Sizes, etc).

Meanwhile your Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is more likely to hybridize with anything in the Cardamineae Tribe. Crops such as The Popular Superhealthy Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) , Yellowcress (Rorippa spp.), Wintercress (Barbarea Spp.), Toothworts (used to be Dentaria genus but now is lumped into the Cardamine genus, meaning even more closely related), and many more.

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Well if it’s just a radish then I’ll have nothing to worry about as far as a dedicated thread, seed saving, updates, etc. Can’t say I mind spending less time on my phone :slightly_smiling_face::v:. I’ll put pictures of the pods up in the near future

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Yes Please! II’m Very interested to see.

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That is super bizarre, those pods are way too skinny to be Radish Pods. Radish pods are fat like this.

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Also they bend upwards very closely towards the stem, this is a strong trait of Black Mustard (Brassica nigra) so perhaps this is a Radish x Black Mustard Hybrid?

Here’s what black mustard pods look like

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Your plant has the flowers of a Radish (Rapahnus sativus) and the Pods of a Black Mustard (Brassica nigra).

HOLD UP, I’m stupid. I think your plant is actually just an Arugula (Eruca vesicaria). The Flowers look Exactly like an Arugula & the Pods look Exactly like Arugula too!

Here’s what Arugula Flower Looks Like

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Here’s what Arugula Pods look like

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and here’s what Radish Flowers Look like

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Did you plant any arugula in your garden? Perhaps it was a weed seed from your soil seed bank when you dig up soil.

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It’s great if that happend, but looking at the photos, these really look like Eruca rocked salad/arugula to me - same leaves and same flowers.
Is it possible that some arugula seeds got spread out there? By human on accident or by animals? Maybe you don’t grow it but your neighbour does?

Even seeds and flowers on a later photo in this post look exactly like arugula seed pods and flowers (and leaves).

Also flowers on this picture - if I understood the poster correctly, this should represent Raphanus flowers?? But Raphanus flowers look differently, that is actually a photo of Eruca/arugula flowers…

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Ah, I see that @VeggieSavage already caught this possible mix with arugula…

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Yes I believe it’s most likely just arugula. I don’t recall planting any but aside from that it makes more sense on several different levels.

I’m still following along with letting it do its thing and go to seed but that’s it

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Yea it happens. Still I’d be super interested in crossing Raphanus x Eruca x Brassica just to see what cool things could happen. Oh by the way, are you also growing a cool landrace of Arugula?

It probably means Arugula was in your soil seed bank & That you didn’t plant it. Arugula could easily lay dormant in soil waiting form someone to till up seeds to the surface. It happens with all sorts of mustards. Your Arugula may have gotten there from an old homestead site. I wouldn’t be too suprised if seeds from soilseed bank lay dormant for 100s to 1000s years depending on species.

Yea, you might have genetics of Arugula that have been long forgotten, laying dormant waiting for someone to till soil. Share photos when you seed save!

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Definitely!!

Not yet, this winter was the first time I was growing it. I have a lot of self-seeded wild one (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) in my place and I didn’t have a need to spend money to buy seeds of Eruca. Last year I got some Eruca seeds in a swap so it started, I’ll have to get some more variants to start a landrace

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Wow! First time hearing about (Diplotaxis tenuifolia), I bet you could cross them with mentor pollination. What does Diplotaxis tenuifolia taste like? Similar to arugula? If so I’d love to get seeds to grow it myself.