rapeseed

Everyday

1. Rapeseed is a plant with bright yellow flowers, grown in fields for its seeds. tree →
2. The oil pressed from these seeds is rapeseed oil, a common cooking oil (called canola oil in Canada, the USA and Australia). tree →

In the lessons

In geography and farming lessons, spring fields of bright yellow rapeseed are a common sight in the UK and Europe; the crop gives cooking oil, animal feed and biofuel. "Canola" is a type of rapeseed bred in Canada. The name comes from Latin "rapum", meaning turnip, as the plant is related to turnips and cabbages.

Examples

• The hills were covered in bright yellow rapeseed. tree →
• Mum fries potatoes in rapeseed oil. tree →
• Bees love the flowers of rapeseed. tree →
• Rapeseed belongs to the cabbage family. tree →
• In Canada rapeseed oil is called canola oil. tree →
• The farmer will harvest the rapeseed in summer. tree →
• Rapeseed fields can make some people sneeze. tree →

Note

Uncountable. The "rape" in rapeseed comes from a Latin word for turnip; it has nothing to do with the crime. Farmers often say "oilseed rape" or just "rape" for the crop; "canola" is the North American and Australian name.