6 BULLETIN 26, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



acrid. They are poisonous. Used medicinally they have alterative properties 

 and are used in treating various diseases of the skin and blood ; they act 

 upon the bowels and also cause vomiting. The root is likewise used in medicine 

 and is at present official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. 

 The price of poke berries ranges from 3 to 4 cents a pound. 



BLACK MUSTARD. 



Brassica nigra (L.) Koch. 



Pharmacopceial name. — Sinapis nigra. 



Synonym. — Sinapis nigra L. 



Other common names. — Red mustard, brown mustard, cadlock, kerlock, senvre, 

 scurvy. 



Habitat and range. — Black mustard has been introduced from Europe and 

 is a common weed in cultivated ground and waste places almost throughout the 

 United States, being especially troublesome in grain fields and pastures. Both 

 black and white mustards are cultivated on a commercial scale in California. 



Description. — The lower part of the stems and branches of black mustard is 

 more or less covered with bristly hairs, while the upper portion of the rather 

 stiff green stem is usually smooth. Black mustard, which is an annual belong- 

 ing to the mustard family (Brassicacese), grows about 2 to 6 feet in height. 

 It has dark-green leaves, rough with bristly hairs. The lower leaves are 

 slender stemmed, deeply lobed, the terminal lobe being the largest and the 

 two or more lateral ones smaller, the margin toothed all around. The leaves 

 toward the top of the plant are shorter stemmed or stemless and ai*e lance 

 shaped and slightly toothed. 



The bright-yellow flowers appear in clusters at the ends of the stems and are 

 produced from about June to September. The flowers measure scarcely a 

 quarter of an inch in diameter and consist of four spreading petals, each with 

 a rounded blade and narrow claw. Alternating with the petals are the pale- 

 green sepals or calyx lobes. Numerous erect pods are produced from July 

 to November, crowded against the stem in dense, narrow clusters. The pods 

 are narrowly linear, about an inch in length and four sided, smooth, with a 

 slender beak at the apex. The seeds contained in the pods are very numerous, 

 small and roundish, blackish or reddish brown, and finely pitted. 



Collection, uses, and prices. — When the pods are nearly ripe, but before they 

 are ready to burst open, the tops may be pulled. These pods should then be 

 placed on a clean, dry floor or shelf, allowing them to mature and dry out, 

 when they will spring open and the seeds can be shaken out. Black mustard 

 seeds are official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. 



When collected, or even when it is powdered in its dry state, mustard has no 

 odor whatever, but as soon as water is added when it is ground the strong, 

 penetrating mustard odor is developed. Mustard has a sharp and pungent 

 taste. 



Black mustard is very much used as a counterirritant, being applied to painful 

 surfaces in the form of a poultice, causing reddening of the skin and blistering 

 if kept on too long. It is also used internally for its emetic and laxative 

 action. 



Black-mustard seed brings about 2 to 4 cents a pound. 



