Turnip (terminology)

Turnip can refer to three vegetables, which are described under the articles Turnip, Rutabaga, and Jicama. The confusion results from the following regional differences of usage.

Scientific term	Brassica rapa rapa	Brassica napus or B. napobrassica	Pachyrhizus
Southern England, most Commonwealth countries	turnip	swede (from "swedish turnip")	yam
Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and parts of Northern England	swede or white turnip	turnip, yellow turnip or "neep"	yam
Cornwall	white turnip	turnip
United States	turnip	rutabaga or yellow turnip	jicama
Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippines			turnip
also called	white turnip or summer turnip	yellow turnip or winter turnip	sweet turnip

Brassica napus and B. napobrassica are called swedes (a shortening of Swedish turnip) in England, especially in the South, and in most dialects of the Commonwealth. Rutabaga, from the Swedish rotabagga, for "root bag" is mostly used in North America, in the United States and Canada. The rutabaga or swede differs from the turnip (Brassica rapa) in that it is typically larger and yellow-orange rather than white.

However, in some dialects of British English the two vegetables have overlapping or reversed names. In the north of England and Scotland, the larger, yellow rutabagas are called neeps or turnips from folk etymology, while the smaller white turnips are called swedes.

Other vegetables

Kohlrabi is also called German turnip, turnip cabbage or cabbage turnip, although there the stem, not the root, is the enlarged part.