CRUCIFEBAE (MUSTARD FAMILY) 



187 



As a weed, this plant is usually the sur- 

 vival of dormant seeds from former culti- 

 vation, or an escape, though its seeds are 

 occasionally found with those of other 

 plants. 



Stems one to two feet high, branching, 

 covered with stiff, spreading hairs. Lower 

 leaves with slender petioles, deeply pin- 

 natifid, the terminal lobe very large, the 

 lateral lobes small and narrow, all toothed 

 and rough-hairy ; upper leaves less divided, 

 with shorter petioles or the topmost ones 

 sessile. Flowers yellow, more than a half- 

 inch broad, the sepals spreading and much 

 shorter than the petals. Siliques round 

 and very bristly, the beak often longer 

 than the part containing the seeds. Seeds 

 light yellow, smooth, larger than those of 

 Black Mustard, milder in flavor. (Fig. 

 130.) 



Means of control the same as for Char- 

 lock and Black Mustard. 



BLACK MUSTARD 



Brdssica nlgra, Koch. 

 (Sinapis nlgra, L.) 



FIG. 130. White Mus- 

 tard (Brassica alba) , X J. 



Introduced. Annual or biennial. Propagates by seeds. 



Time of bloom : June to September. 



Seed-time: July to November. 



Range: In most parts of the American Continent except the far 



North ; most abundant on the Pacific Coast. 

 Habitat : Fields and waste places. 



Mustard seeds, both the Black and the White, are used in making 

 a popular condiment, also in medicine, and to express a fine, clear 

 oil which has little or none of the sharp flavor of Mustard. The 

 United States imports these seeds to the amount of over five million 

 pounds annually, at a cost of three to six cents a pound. 



