Tur·nip n. Bot. The edible, fleshy, roundish, or somewhat conical, root of a cruciferous plant (Brassica campestris, var. Napus); also, the plant itself. [Formerly written also turnep.]
Swedish turnip Bot., a kind of turnip. See Ruta-baga.
Turnip flea Zool., a small flea-beetle (Haltica, striolata syn. Phyllotreta striolata), which feeds upon the turnip, and often seriously injures it. It is black with a stripe of yellow on each elytron. The name is also applied to several other small insects which are injurious to turnips. See Illust. under Flea-beetle.
Turnip fly. Zool. (a) The turnip flea. (b) A two-winged fly (Anthomyia radicum) whose larvae live in the turnip root.
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