Rutabaga
Brassica napus (Napobrassica Group)
A cool-weather root vegetable of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Scandinavia and Finland and also called swede, Swedish turnip, or yellow turnip. NC State Extension describes a slow-growing, spreading biennial grown as an annual that forms a swollen edible root best harvested at 3-5 inches across, topped by deep blue-green, deeply lobed leaves growing close to the ground. It wants full sun, good drainage, and a steady inch of water a week — drought stress turns the root woody and bitter. Heat-intolerant, it is grown for a fall or early-winter harvest and reaches maturity in roughly 90-120 days.
Edible
Light
Full sun
Water
Consistent moisture
Mature size
12-24" tall · 8" apart
Hardy in zones
Annual; NC State lists a cool-weather biennial grown as an annual
AHS heat range
1-6
Plant range authored in AHS heat-zone terms.
Native status
Cultivated — no wild native range
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A cool-season root vegetable.
Cold hardiness
This plant is grown as an annual; hardiness zones don't apply.
Heat tolerance
Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.
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Similar plants
Browse lateral options with similar roles, light needs, size, or native-range overlap; these are not filtered for a better climate fit.
Beta vulgaris
Beet (and chard)
A biennial root vegetable grown as an annual for its swollen taproot (beets) or large leaves (chard — same species, different cultivars). Cool-season crop; tolerates light frost. Edible leaves + roots; chard is grown specifically for the dramatic colorful petioles + leaves. Wind-pollinated when flowering; rarely flowers as a garden plant.
Brassica rapa (Chinensis Group)
Bok choy
A cool-season Asian leaf vegetable grown for its loose, non-heading rosette of dark-green leaves carried on broad, juicy white stalks — the spoon-shaped petioles that distinguish it from heading cabbages. Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder records that the group spans varieties from 3-4 inches to 24 inches tall and is edible at every stage, from seedlings to small immature heads to large mature heads and even while flowering. The stems are mild and juicy while the leaves carry a cabbage-like flavor; like other brassicas it tolerates light frosts but bolts in summer heat.
Brassica oleracea (Capitata Group)
Cabbage
A cool-weather leaf vegetable grown for its dense, edible head of tightly wrapped blue-green, red, or wrinkled (Savoy) leaves. A biennial almost always grown as an annual, it forms a 3-4 pound head in about 80 days and rarely flowers in cultivation. It shares its species with kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and kohlrabi, and grows poorly once daytime temperatures stay above 80 degrees F.
Daucus carota subsp. sativus
Carrot
An annual or biennial Apiaceae root vegetable grown for its orange (or purple, white, yellow, red) taproot. Foliage hosts black swallowtail caterpillars — the same Apiaceae specialist that uses parsley. NC State notes the wild form (Daucus carota subsp. carota, Queen Anne's lace) is the same species + interfertile with cultivated carrots; do not let cultivated carrots overwinter to seed in areas where wild Queen Anne's lace is also present.
Cucumis sativus
Cucumber
A warm-season annual vine grown for crisp green fruits eaten raw or pickled — slicing (long, smooth-skinned) and pickling (short, bumpy-skinned) types differ in cultivar selection rather than species biology. Monoecious + bee-dependent for fruit set (except parthenocarpic seedless cultivars). NC State explicitly notes cucumber beetles as the major pest — they vector bacterial wilt (Erwinia tracheiphila), which is the canonical cucumber-killing disease.
Glycine max
Edamame (soybean)
Soybean grown as a fresh-shell vegetable — edamame — an easy warm-season annual in the bean family (Fabaceae), native to China and the Russian Far East. NC State Extension describes a columnar, dense, multi-stemmed mounding plant about 1-2 feet tall and 9 inches to 2 feet wide, with hairy compound leaves and small pinkish pea-type flowers that give way to fuzzy legume pods. Like other legumes it fixes nitrogen, and NC State recommends inoculating seed with a soybean inoculant for best results. Pods are picked young and green for edamame, or left to dry on the plant for dry soybeans.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Rutabaga (Brassica napus (Napobrassica Group)). Retrieved 2026, June 24, from https://plotwright.com/plants/brassica-napus-napobrassica-group
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited - 18 source-backed.
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
University extension service
Backs 17 fields
Identity
Summary
Plant type
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Moisture
Hardiness
Heat zone
Size
Spacing
Habit
Design roles
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