_Brassica nigra_
_Flowers_--Bright yellow, fading pale, 1/4 to 1/2 in. across, 4-parted,
in elongated racemes; quickly followed by narrow, upright 4-sided pods
about 1/2 in. long appressed against the stem. _Stem:_ Erect, 2 to 7 ft.
tall, branching. _Leaves:_ Variously lobed and divided, finely toothed,
the terminal lobe larger than the 2 to 4 side ones.
_Preferred Habitat_--Roadsides, fields, neglected gardens.
_Flowering Season_--June-November.
_Distribution_--Common throughout our area; naturalized from
Europe and Asia.
“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed,
which a man took and sowed in his field: which indeed is less
than all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the
herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come
and lodge in the branches thereof.”
Commentators differ as to which is the mustard of the parable--this
common Black Mustard, or a rarer shrub-like tree (_Salvadora Persica_),
with an equivalent Arabic name, a pungent odor, and a very small seed.
Inasmuch as the mustard which is systematically planted for fodder by
Old World farmers grows with the greatest luxuriance in Palestine, and
the comparison between the size of its seed and the plant’s great height
was already proverbial in the East when Jesus used it, evidence strongly
favors this wayside weed. Indeed, the late Doctor Royle, who endeavored
to prove that it was the shrub that was referred to, finally found that
it does not grow in Galilee.
Now, there are two species which furnish the most powerfully pungent
condiment known to commerce; but the tiny dark brown seeds of the Black
Mustard are sharper than the serpent’s tooth, whereas the pale brown
seeds of the White Mustard, often mixed with them, are far more mild.
The latter (_Brassica alba_) is a similar, but more hairy, plant, with
slightly larger yellow flowers. Its pods are constricted like a
necklace between the seeds.
The coarse Hedge Mustard (_Sisymbrium officinale_), with rigid,
spreading branches, and spikes of tiny pale yellow flowers, quickly
followed by awl-shaped pods that are closely appressed to the stem,
abounds in waste places throughout our area. It blooms from May to
November, like the next species.
Another common and most troublesome weed from Europe is the Field or
Corn Mustard, Charlock or Field Kale (_Brassica arvensis_) found in
grain fields, gardens, rich waste lands, and rubbish heaps. The
alternate leaves, which stand boldly out from the stem, are oval,
coarsely saw-toothed, or the lower ones more irregular, and lobed at
their bases, all rough to the touch, and conspicuously veined.