This is a plant the farmers are very sorry to see. They do not want it
among the corn, but in springtime the fields are often covered with its
yellow flowers.
The flowers grow in a cluster near the top of the stem. There are often
four or five in full bloom at once, gathered round a bunch of green buds
which rises in the centre of the cluster. While the first cluster is in
flower, the stem continues to grow, and by the time these flowers fall
off, another cluster appears at the end of the lengthened stem, and so
on.
If you pull off one of the flower-petals you will see that the lower
half is strap-shaped. But the petal is much broader at the other end,
and it is round, with a tiny nick in the outer edge.
In the centre there are six stamens whose tips you can just see where
the four petals meet. But the seed-vessel is hidden until the petals and
sepals and stamens fall off. It then grows into a thin green pod, and
you will find many of these slender pods standing out from the hairy
stem.
Behind the yellow petals are four thin sepals. When the flower is fully
out these lie flat open. They do not form a cup.
The leaves of the Wild Mustard are dusty green. They are each in one
piece and are broadly pointed, with the edges cut like the teeth of a
saw.