Horseradish is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae. It is a root vegetable, cultivated and used worldwide as a spice and as a condiment. The species is probably native to Southeastern Europe and Western Asia.
Horseradish
Sections of roots of the horseradish plant
Foliage of the horseradish plant
Horseradish, from The Book of Health, 1898, by Henry Munson Lyman
Brassicaceae or Cruciferae is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leaves are simple, lack stipules, and appear alternately on stems or in rosettes. The inflorescences are terminal and lack bracts. The flowers have four free sepals, four free alternating petals, two shorter free stamens and four longer free stamens. The fruit has seeds in rows, divided by a thin wall.
Brassicaceae
Ricotia lunaria
Typical floral diagram of a Brassicaceae (Erysimum "Bowles' Mauve")
Lunaria annua with dry walls of the fruit