Brassica rapa Brassica rapa Brassica rapa is a plant consisting of various widely cultivated subspecies including the turnip (a root vegetable); napa cabbage, bomdong, bok choy, and cime di rapa (leaf vegetables); and "Brassica rapa subsp. oleifera", an oilseed which has many common names, including "turnip rape", "field mustard", "bird rape", and "keblock". The oil made from the seed is sometimes also called "canola" or "colza", which is one reason why it is sometimes confused with rapeseed oil, but this comes from a different "Brassica" species ("Brassica napus"). The oilseeds known as canola are sometimes particular varieties of "Brassica rapa" (termed Polish
Vegetable oils as alternative energy Vegetable oils as alternative energy Vegetable oils are increasingly used as a substitute for fossil fuels. Vegetable oils are the basis of biodiesel, which can be used like conventional diesel. Some vegetable oil blends are used in unmodified vehicles, but straight vegetable oil needs specially prepared vehicles which have a method of heating the oil to reduce its viscosity and surface tension. Another alternative is vegetable oil refining. The availability of biodiesel around the world is increasing, although still tiny compared to conventional fossil fuel sources. There is significant research in algaculture methods to make biofuel from algae. Concerns have