The rat-tail radish, serpent radish, or tail-pod radish is a plant of the radish genus Raphanus named for its edible seed pods. Linnaeus described it as the species Raphanus caudatus; it is now sometimes treated as a variety of the common radish, either caudatus or mougri.
Generally talk about radishes refers to the bulbous root portion. 'Rat's Tail' radish is grown for its edible pod. It doesn't form much of a root, but the pencil-thin seed pods carry the same sizzling bite and crispness as traditional bulb radishes. They do look a little like a rat's tail, but that's just part of their charm.
Generally talk about radishes refers to the bulbous root portion. 'Rat's Tail' radish is grown for its edible pod. It doesn't form much of a root, but the pencil-thin seed pods carry the same sizzling bite and crispness as traditional bulb radishes. They do look a little like a rat's tail, but that's just part of their charm.
All radish plants will form seed pods and they will be edible too. But a handful of radish varieties are bred specifically to put their deliciousness into their pods and they produce prodigious amounts of them. So you don't have to worry about the plants bolting and you can grow them all summer.
Edible podded radish plants look very similar to traditional radish plants except that the flowers are allowed to go to seed and form seed pods.
Leaves
'Rat's Tail' radish are in the Brassicaceae or Cruciferae family and the leaves have wavy lobes. The plants don't produce a lot of foliage and can be floppy even before they start setting pods.
Flowers
The flowers are pale pink and white and quickly develop into pods. While in flower, they attract all sorts of butterflies. As cruciferous vegetables, their four-petaled flowers from the familiar cross.
