Recent interest in the crop has centered around cultivars that have low erucic acid and are thus desirable edible oils. Current production in the United States is limited. The family, of about 375 genera and 3200 species, includes crops, condiments, ornamentals, and many weeds. Sexual Reproduction and Interspecific Crosses in Rapeseed Brassica napus produces an inflorescence of yellow, nectar-bearing flowers.
Honeybees are the primary pollinators.
Partial sexual compatibility exists with some related Brassica spp. Honey bees are the primary pollinators of rapeseed. First, each individual honeybee forager almost always collects nectar and pollen from a single plant species during a single visit. Second, given abundant flowers, such as in a cultivated field, individual honeybee foragers tend to collect nectar and pollen from flowers in the same or immediately adjacent plants. Third, honeybees are very sensitive to barometric pressure, and decrease foraging distances in response to impending adverse weather.