Hannu Ahokas 2002: Cultivation of Brassica species and Cannabis by ancient Finnic peoples, traced by linguistic, historical and ethnological data; revision of Brassica napus as B. radice-rapi. — Acta Bot. Fennica 172.

The common word stem nakrq of turnip (Brassica rapa) in the Uralic (Finno-Ugric) languages dates back several millenia. Rutabaga as a root crop species distinct from turnip was recognized by the Finnic (Baltic-Finnic) peoples at the northern limit of rutabaga cultivation, due to the demand for a longer growing season by rutabaga than by turnip. A criterion for identification was the level at which the tuberous taproot occurred: being on the soil surface in typical slash-and-burn (kaski) turnip but mostly below ground in rutabaga. In Northern Eurasia, the polyphyletic rutabaga may have evolved at least twice: (1) in Ingrian or Estonian territory where rutabaga was earliest called kaalikka or kaalikas and (2) in Finnish territory where differences between kaski turnip and rutabaga were explained by names of rutabaga: juurikas (with plenty of adventitious roots), lanttu (sunk in the soil) and sinikka (referring to the epicuticular glaucousness of a rutabaga). The kaalikka and lanttu word stems have moved towards the east, southeast and south, one or both appearing locally in Russia. The former term evidently moved along with the Orthodox Ingrian people, dating the kaalikka name earlier than 1656. Consistent with the old local evolutionary explanation, Prof. Elias Til-Landz could distinguish rutabaga as Brassica radice-rapi from turnip types in his second floristic book in 1683 which appeared in Finland. The ancient use of hemp (Cannabis sativa) for bowstrings is suggested by a jänte, a Uralic word stem meaning both hemp and bowstring in some of the languages, and likewise by the sini-sinn, one of the Saami terms for hemp. The etymology of the Finnic kangas (a cloth) from words meaning hemp is considered.