Black Mustard
Brassica nigra
Family: Brassicaceae or Cruciferae
What it is like
Brassica nigra is a ANNUAL growing to 1.2 m (4ft) by 0.6 m (2ft in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees, flies. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.
Height (m): 1.2
Where it is found
Cliffs near the sea in S. W. England.
C. Europe. Occasionally naturalized in S.W. Britain.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Leaves - raw or cooked. A hot flavour, they can be finely chopped and added to salads or cooked as a potherb. The seedlings can also be used as a salading when about one week old, adding a hot pungency to a salad. Immature flowering stems - cooked and eaten like broccoli. Mustard seed is commonly ground into a powder and used as a food flavouring and relish. This is the black mustard of commerce, it is widely used as a food relish and as an ingredient of curry. Pungency of mustard develops when cold water is added to the ground-up seed - an enzyme (myrosin) acts on a glycoside (sinigrin) to produce a sulphur compound. The reaction takes 10 - 15 minutes. Mixing with hot water or vinegar, or adding salt, inhibits the enzyme and produces a mild bitter mustard. The seed can also be used whole to season pickles, curries, sauerkraut etc. Black mustard has a stronger more pungent flavour than white mustard (Sinapis alba) and brown mustard (B. juncea). An edible oil is obtained from the seed.
Oil: Oil
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Stem: this often intergrades into leaves.
Medicine
Rating: 3
Mustard seed is often used in herbal medicine, especially as a rubefacient poultice. The seed is ground and made into a paste then applied to the skin in the treatment of rheumatism, as a means of reducing congestion in internal organs. Applied externally, mustard relieves congestion by drawing the blood to the surface as in head afflictions, neuralgia and spasms. Hot water poured on bruised seeds makes a stimulant foot bath, good for colds and headaches. Old herbals suggested mustard for treating alopecia, epilepsy, snakebite, and toothache. Care must be taken not to overdo it, since poultices can sometimes cause quite severe irritation to the skin. The seed is also used internally, when it is appetizer, digestive, diuretic, emetic and tonic. Swallowed whole when mixed with molasses, it acts as a laxative. A decoction of the seeds is used in the treatment of indurations of the liver and spleen. It is also used to treat carcinoma, throat tumours, and imposthumes. A liquid prepared from the seed, when gargled, is said to help tumours of the "sinax.". The seed is eaten as a tonic and appetite stimulant. Hot water poured onto bruised mustard seeds makes a stimulating foot bath and can also be used as an inhaler where it acts to throw off a cold or dispel a headache. Mustard Oil is said to stimulate hair growth. Mustard is also recommended as an aperient ingredient of tea, useful in hiccup. Mustard flour is considered antiseptic.
Antirheumatic: Treats rheumatism.
Appetizer: Improves the appetite
Digestive: Aids digestion.
Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.
Emetic: Induces vomiting.
Epilepsy: Used in the treatment of Epilepsy - a disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures.
Rubefacient: A counter-irritant and external stimulant, it produces inflammation and redness of the skin.
Stimulant: Excites or quickens activity of the physiological processes. Faster acting than a tonic but differing from a narcotic in that it does not give a false sense of well-being.
Other
Rating: 2
A semi-drying oil is obtained from the seed, as well as being edible it is also used as a lubricant, illuminant and in making soap. The plant is often grown as a green manure, it is very fast, producing a bulk suitable for digging into the soil in about 8 weeks. Not very winter hardy, it is generally used in spring and summer. It does harbour the pests and diseases of the cabbage family so is probably best avoided where these plants are grown in a short rotation and especially if club root is a problem. Mustard oil (allyl isothiocyanate) is used in commercial cat and dog repellent mixtures.
Green manure: Fast-growing plants that can be used to increase the fertility of the soil.
Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.
Repellent: Plants that are said to deter but not necessarily kill various mammals, birds, insects etc.
Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent
How it is grown
An easily grown plant, black mustard is suited to many types of soils except very heavy clays, it grows best on light sandy loams, or deep rich fertile soils. Succeeds in full sun in a well-drained fertile preferably alkaline soil. Prefers a heavy soil in an open position. Another report says that it prefers a light well-drained soil and some shade in the summer. The plant tolerates an annual precipitation of 30 to 170cm, an annual average temperature range of 6 to 27°C and a pH in the range of 4.9 to 8.2. Black mustard is adapted to a wide variety of climatic conditions, it is often grown in the temperate zone though it is mainly suited to tropical areas, and grown chiefly as a rainfed crop in areas of low or moderate rainfall. Black mustard is often cultivated for its edible seed, though it is going out of favour because it rapidly sheds its seeds once they are ripe and this makes it harder to harvest mechanically than the less pungent brown mustard (Brassica juncea).. This is used especially as a food flavouring, though it is also sown with the seeds of garden cress (Lepidium sativum) to provide mustard and cress, a salading eaten when the seedlings are about one week old. Black mustard is also grown as a medicinal plant. It germinates freely and quickly grows rapidly and makes a very useful green manure. The plants are not very winter hardy so the seed is best sown in the spring when grown for its seed whilst it can be sown as late as late summer as a green manure crop. The flowers have a pleasing perfume, though this is only noticed if several flowers are inhaled at the same time.
Propagating it: Seed - sow in situ from early spring until late summer in order to obtain a succession of crops. The main crop for seed is sown in April.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Annual
Hardiness: 6-9
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
When eaten in large quantities, the seed and pods have sometimes proved toxic to grazing animals. Mustard allergy possibly especially in children and adolescents. Retention of seeds possibly in intestines if taken internally .
In California it is widespread and has invaded shrublands, grasslands, and riparian areas; it is listed as having a Moderate overall invasiveness score by the California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC, 2004). It is listed as a noxious weed in Michigan and as a noxious weed seed in several other US states (USDA-ARS, 2013). It is listed as invasive in New Zealand, Hawaii and the off-shore islands of Chile.
Its other names
Local names
brown mustard; mustard (black); mustard (brown); mustard (red); red mustard. Spanish: mostaza negra. French: moutarde noire. Portuguese: mostarda-negra. Germany: Schwarzer Senf; Senf- Kohl; Senfkohl. Italy: senape nera. Netherlands: zwarte Mosterd. Philippines: mustasa. Sweden: svartsenap.
Synonyms
Sinapis nigra. Sisymbrium nigrum. Brassica brachycarpa. Brassica sinapioides.