MUSTARD FAMILY 



Cress, the Herb of St. Barbara. Another is Charlock, 

 Wild Mustard, with leaves resembling those of Black 

 Mustard but not so much cut, and pods constricted 

 between the seeds and tipped with a long, flattened 

 beak which often is one-seeded. Its 

 flowering season runs from May to 

 November. It is a common and 

 annoying weed. 



The Black Mustard is the f amihar 

 form of the genus that appears 

 abundantly in fields, roadsides, 

 about abandoned farm buildings 

 and weed-grown foundations. 

 Though cultivated in Europe it is 

 here regarded as a pest. The leaves 

 are large, alternate on the stem 

 and show little difference between 

 petiole and midrib, the two run to- 

 gether. The leaf consists of two or 

 three pairs of small variable leaflets, 

 more or less misshapen, balanced at 

 the end with a large terminal lobe, 

 which is, itself, usually lobed and 

 sharply toothed. The flower is in 

 the shape of a Greek cross and 

 when full-blown is loose in struc- 

 ture. The small yellow sepals 

 spread wide apart, the long-clawed petals lean away 

 from each other, the six stamens likewise lean away 

 from the centre of the flower, and the stigma does 

 not become receptive until most of the home pollen has 

 been scattered. The flowering impulse begins at the 

 bottom of the cluster, the stem lengthens as the flowers 



72 



Black Mustard. Brdssica 

 nigra 



