薹とう

noun

flower stalk; peduncle

Refers to the elongated stem that bears flowers, especially in vegetables like cabbage, radish, or rapeseed. Often used in the idiom 薹が立つ (tō ga tatsu), meaning the plant has bolted and become too tough to eat.

• 菜なの花はなの薹とうが立たつと、もう食たべられない。

  Once the rapeseed plant's flower stalk bolts, it's no longer edible.

• この大だい根こんは薹とうが立たってしまって、筋すじっぽくなった。

  This radish has bolted and become fibrous.