Origin

There is evidence that the turnip was domesticated before the 15th century BC; it was grown in India at this time for its oilbearing seeds. The turnip was a wellestablished crop in Hellenistic and Roman times, which leads to the assumption that it was brought into cultivation earlier. Sappho, a Greek poet from the 7th century BC, calls one of her paramours Gong?la, turnip. Zohary and Hopf note, however, there are almost no archaeological records available to help determine its earlier history and domestication. Wild forms of the hot turnip and its relatives the mustards and radishes are found over west Asia and Europe, suggesting their domestication took place somewhere in that area. However Zohary and Hopf conclude, Suggestions as to the origins of these plants are necessarily based on linguistic considerations.