Wild Mustards

Brassicaceae

LIFE FORM: Annual / biennial

NATIVITY: Europe

VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS:

Can grow up to 2 feet tall; leaves are alternate with deep, jagged, irregularly lobed blades.

FLOWERS:

Blooms produced from spring through summer, depending upon time of germination.

FRUIT/DISPERSAL AGENTS:

Self-sows readily.

ECOLOGICAL PREFERENCE:

Minimally maintained public parks and open space; vacant lots and rubble dump sites; abandoned grasslands (meadows); unmowed highway banks and median strips with frequent salt applications.

ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTION:

Salt tolerance along roadways; drought tolerance on compacted soils; erosion control on slopes.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:

Greens are edible in spring and seeds are used as a condiment as well as for medicinal purposes.