''Brassicoraphanus'' is any

intergeneric hybrid In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents (such as in ...

between the genera ''

Brassica ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole ...

'' (cabbages, etc.) and ''

Raphanus ''Raphanus'' (Latin for "radish") is a genus within the flowering plant family Brassicaceae. Carl Linnaeus described three species within the genus: the cultivated radish (''Raphanus sativus''), the wild radish or jointed charlock ('' Raphanus r ...

'' (radish). The name comes from the combination of the genus names. Both

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respecti ...

hybrids and

allopolyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of (homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...

hybrids are known and share this name. Early experimental crosses between species of these two genera had been sterile or nearly sterile, but large-scale experiments by Soviet agronomist Georgi Dmitrievich Karpechenko using ''Raphanus sativus'' and ''Brassica oleracea'' were remarkable because some of the plants produced hundreds of seeds. The second generation were

s, the result of

gamete A gamete (; , ultimately ) is a haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually. Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, also referred to as sex cells. In species that produce ...

s with doubled

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins ar ...

numbers. As Karpechenko realized, this process had created a new

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

, and it could justifiably be called a new

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

, and proposed the name ''Raphanobrassica'' for them, but the earlier name ''Brassicoraphanus'' has priority. Plants of this parentage are now known as radicole. Two other fertile forms of ''Brassicoraphanus'' are known by the following informal names: * The Raparadish group are allopolyploid hybrids between ''Raphanus sativus'' and ''Brassica rapa'', used as

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food given to the animals (including ...

crops * The Radicole group are allopolyploid hybrids between ''Raphanus sativus'' and ''Brassica oleracea'', used as

crops * Raphanofortii is the allopolyploid hybrid between ''

Brassica tournefortii ''Brassica tournefortii'' is a species of plant known by the common names Asian mustard, pale cabbage, African mustard, and Sahara mustard, and is well known as an invasive species, especially in California. The plant is generally similar to oth ...

'' and ''

Raphanus caudatus The rat-tail radish ( Chinese: t , s , ''shǔwěi luóbó''), 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 caudatu ...

'' Currently, it is thought that a great part of the

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s have some hybridization and polyploidization among their ancestors.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Observed Instances of Speciation
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3758557 Brassicaceae Brassicaceae genera Speciation events Soviet inventions Russian inventions Plant nothogenera