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Wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis)

Wild mustard Synonyms: Brassica arvensis

Common Names: Charlock mustard, charlock, corn mustard

Description: This species is listed under Regulation No. 715 - Seed Law Implementation as a restricted noxious weed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture.

Habit: Annual, growing up to 1-3 ft. tall and branching occasionally.

Leaves: 1.5-7 in. long, 0.5-2 in. wide, irregularly toothed, mostly hairless, broadly oval to egg-shaped. Lower leaves are stalked with 1-3 pairs of irregular lobes becoming stalkless and unlobed in the upper branches.

Stems: Green or with reddish pigmentation especially near leaf axils, erect, amply branched, mostly smooth except for scattered, coarse hairs, more dense on mid-lower stems.

Flowers: Elongated clusters, tightly packed, short-stalked, borne at the end of branching stems, yellow in color, 1/2 in. across, 4 petals, 6 yellow stamen in the middle.

Fruit and seeds: Slender, round, 1/2 to 1.5 in. pod, beak at the tip. Seeds are round, small, less than 1/10 in. in diameter, dark brown to black, brown or reddish in color.

Habitat: Native to Eurasia. Found in disturbed places such as roadsides, fields, railroads, dumps, shores, yards and gardens, and fencerows.

Reproduction: By seed and vegetatively.

Similar species: Can be easily distinguished from other mustard (Sinapis spp. / Brassica spp.) species by the presence of reddish purple rings or patches at the junction of its stems.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from Minnesota Wildflowers and Michigan Flora.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org). Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).


Common Name:

Wild mustard

Scientific Name:

Sinapis arvensis

Family:

Brassicaceae
(Mustard)

Duration:

Annual

Habit:

Herbs

USDA Symbol:

SIARA