CRUCIFERAE 



MUSTARD FAMILY 



WILD MUSTARD. CHARLOCK 



Brassica arvensis (L.) Ktze. 



The Wild Mustard or Charlock was introduced into this 

 country from Europe, has flourished and has become a very 

 common weed. It occurs in grain fields and waste places through- 

 out the United States. 



It is an annual, i-i feet high and 

 branching above the middle, some- 

 times covered with stiff scattered 

 hairs but sometimes entirely smooth. 

 The leaves are rough to the touch, 

 coarsely and prominently ribbed and 

 veined, and with edges irregularly 

 notched or wavy. 



The yellow flowers, blooming 

 from May to November, have the 

 usual structure for members of this 

 family and the pods are commonly 

 smooth but rather knotty. 



The Black Mustard, Brassica nigra 

 (L.) Koch, is another European plant 

 that has become a weed here. It is 

 larger, growing 2-7 teet tall and branch- 

 ing freely. Its flowers are smaller and 

 its pods are shorter and usually closely 

 appressed to the stem. It blooms from 

 June to November and is found in 

 fields, along roadsides and in waste 

 places throughout the country. Table 

 mustard and mustard oil are made 

 from the seeds of this plant and in 

 Europe it is extensively cultivated 



for the purpose. It may also be cultivated for fodder, in which case 

 it is harvested before the seeds mature. 



The White Mustard, Brassica alba (L.) Boiss., also from Europe 

 and cultivated, may be distinguished from the similar Charlock, 

 Black Mustard and Rutabaga by the fact that all its leaves are pale, 

 deeply divided and do not clasp the stem. The pods are bristly and 

 have large i -seeded angular beaks that are sword shaped and one- 

 half the length ot the whole pod. 



There is a flower, a little flower 



With silver crest aud golden eye, 

 That welcomes every changing hour, 

 And weathers everv sky. 

 A Field Flower — James Montgomeby 



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