Turnip

**Description and Nutrition:**
– Most common type of turnip is white-skinned with purple, red, or greenish tops.
– Interior flesh is white, root is globular, and lacks side roots.
– Turnip leaves are eaten as turnip greens, similar to mustard greens.
– Turnip roots weigh up to 1 kilogram but are usually harvested smaller.
– Turnip leaves and roots have a pungent flavor that becomes milder when cooked.
– Turnip greens are rich in vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, and folate.
– Turnip greens provide 84 kilojoules of food energy in a 100g serving.
– Boiled turnip root supplies moderate amounts of vitamin C.
– Turnip is 94% water, 5% carbohydrates, and 1% protein.
– Boiled turnip greens also contain substantial lutein.

**History and Cultivation:**
– Wild turnips and relatives found in western Asia and Europe.
– Edible turnips first cultivated in northern Europe.
– Turnips spread to China and Japan by 700 AD.
– Turnips were important in Antebellum America cuisine.
– Turnip greens were a staple in new plantations in America.
– Turnips grow best in cool weather.
– Planted in spring in cold climates, late summer in temperate climates.
– Turnips are biennial plants taking two years to reproduce.
– Average time from planting to harvest is 55-60 days.
– Turnips can be grown in fields that have been harrowed and ploughed.

**Relevance in Human Use and Heraldry:**
– Turnips promoted in a crop-rotation system by Charles Turnip Townshend.
– In England, smaller white vegetables are called turnips, larger yellow ones are swedes.
– In the US, turnips are turnips, while swedes are rutabagas.
– Turnip is an old vegetable charge in heraldry.
– Turnip used in the coat of arms of Kauvatsa and Keutschach am See.
– Arms of Kiikala, Finland feature a turnip.

**Turnips as Biennial Plants:**
– Turnips are biennial plants.
– They require a winter season to form flowers and seed.
– In colder regions, they must be dug and stored for winter.
– Turnips need to be replanted in spring.
– This cycle is essential for their growth and reproduction.

**Historical References and Official Blazon and Heraldry:**
– Ashton, T S (1948). The Industrial Revolution.
– Sam Bowers Hilliard (2014). Hog Meat and Hoecake: Food Supply in the Old South.
– Household Cyclopedia of 1881 by Matthew Spong.
– Schmöger, M. (2010-01-27). Keutschach am See, Carinthia (Austria).
– Hartemink, Ralf. Kiikala in Heraldry Wiki.
– Blazoning of arms includes a turnip symbol.
– Official blazon in Finnish describes a golden turnip on a red field.
– The turnip symbol is used in heraldry.
– This symbolizes the importance of turnips in certain cultures.
– Heraldic representations of turnips have historical significance.