Leaf
Bertrand Bui, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Horseradish
Armoracia rusticana G.Gaertn., B.Mey. & Scherb.
Family: Brassicaceae
50 cm to 1.2 m tall
Vegetable gardens, waste ground, roadsides, rich soils
Flowering: May – June
Full sun
Part shade
-25°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Its freshly grated root releases sulphur compounds so pungent they bring tears to the eyes, like Japanese horseradish (wasabi).
🍃 Leaves
Large, long, wavy basal leaves, narrower stem leaves
🌸 Flowers
Small white four-petalled flowers, in dense racemes
🍎 Fruits
Small ovate siliques, rarely fertile
🪵 Bark
Large, fleshy taproot, erect, branched stems
🗺️ Distribution
Native to eastern Europe and western Asia; widely naturalised and cultivated in France.
🐝 Value for pollinators
Clusters of white flowers visited by bees and various pollinating insects in spring.
✂️ Horticultural uses
Vegetable garden, dedicated corner of the garden (root very invasive through its rhizomes); grated root used as a pungent condiment, notably in Alsace.
⚠️ Possible toxicity
Non-toxic in normal culinary use; the freshly grated root is very pungent and can irritate the mucous membranes in large quantities.
🌿 Other Brassicaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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