MUSTARD. 1G1 



cylindrical, somewhat hairy, branched, and three or four feet 

 in height. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, dark green ; the 

 lower ones lyrate, with obtuse, unequally toothed lobes ; the 

 uppermost linear-lanceolate, smooth, entire, and hanging down. 

 The flowers are yellow, small, and are disposed in a long ter- 

 minal raceme, on short peduncles. The calyx consists of four 

 oblong, straight, spreading sepals. The corolla is cruciform ; 

 the petals obovate, rounded, spreading, with short erect claws. 

 The stamens are tetradynamous, with s.mple erect filaments, 

 glandular at the base, and supporting oblong anthers. The 

 germen is cylindrical, with a small short style tipped with a 

 capitate stigma. The pods or silicles are small, nearly smooth, 

 obtusely quadrangular, appressed to the stem, and terminated 

 by a very short beak, or rather by the persistent style and 

 stigma. The seeds are nearly globose, numerous, shining, dark 

 brown, and arranged in a single series. Plate 34, fig. 4, (a) 

 entire flower slightly magnified ; (b) calyx, stamens and pistil ; 

 (c) pistil ; (d) silique, or pod, opened to show the disposition 

 of the seeds. 



This plant is a native of the south and middle of Europe, and 

 is not uncommonly found wild in this country under hedges 

 and in waste places, flowering in June and July. 



The term Sinapis is derived from the Greek awaiei *, {naya, rov 

 crivzaQoii tow? utcuc,) from its pungency affecting the eyes. Theis 

 states that the origin of the word may be traced to the Celtic 

 nap, a general name for plants of the rape kind. Mustard is 

 said to be an abbreviation of mustum ardens, hot must ; the 

 sweet must of new wine being formerly an ingredient in pre- 

 paring mustard for dietetic purposes. 



The White Mustard (S. alba) is readily distinguished from 

 the above by its larger flowers, and rough, turgid, spreading 

 pods, furnished with a long beak, and it is seldom more than 

 half as high as the Common Mustard. The Wild Mustard, or 

 Charlock, (JS. arvensis,) which is often too frequent in corn 

 fields, is readily known by its turgid and knotty pods having 

 several angles, as well as by its general aspect. 



* It is called vocm by Theophrastus ; and Pliny (Hist. lib. xix. c 3) states 

 that it had the same designation among the Athenians. 



VOL. II. M 



