Charlock, Field mustard
Sinapis arvensis

Family: Brassicaceae

What it is like

A cabbage family herb. It is an erect annual plant. The mature plant is 80 cm to 1.4 m high. The leaves are 5-15 cm long and 2-5 cm wide. They are hairy and there are teeth around the edge. There can be lobes near the base. The flowers are yellow and are clustered along the stem. The fruit is like a pod and is about 2 cm long. The valves on the fruit contain 3-5 distinct petals. The pods have more than 10 seeds.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. In western China it grows between 400-1,800 m above sea level. Tasmania Herbarium.

Countries/locations it is found in

Afghanistan, Africa, Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Balkans, Bosnia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Caucasus, Central America, Central Asia, Chile, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Estonia, Europe, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Hungary, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Luxembourg, Mediterranean, Middle East, Mongolia, Morocco, New Zealand, North Africa, North America, Norway, Pacific, Pakistan, Palestine, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Scandinavia, Sicily, Slovenia, South America, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Turkey, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, USA, West Indies, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The fruit can be a source of edible oil. The seeds are eaten or added to barley to increase the flour. The seeds are used as a condiment. They have a mustard flavour. The leaves are boiled in milk and eaten. They are also added to soups. The young finely chopped leaves are used to add flavour to salads, cheeses, omelettes, and sandwiches. The leaves are used for sarma in Turkey. They are rolled around a filling of rice or minced meat. The flower buds are prepared and used like broccoli. The sprouted seeds are used in salads and sandwiches.

Edible parts

Leaves, seeds, flowers, stems

How it is grown

It can be grown by seeds.

Its other names

Local names

Akersennep, Alassani, Elharra, Elkelkaza, Ermulata, Gorusica, Hardal, Hardalotu, Khardal barri, Liffaiteh, Mostacita, Mostarda, Mostaza salvaje, Mostaza silvestre, Njivska gorčica, Offaiteh, Ohnica, Rabcsont, Rapa, Repce, Sinapa sarvaggia, Sinape selvaggia, Slacica, Telg, Tolk, Xertele, Yenen hardal

Synonyms

Brassica arvensis (Linnaeus) Rabenhorst; Brassica kaber (de Candolle) L. C. Wheeler; Brassica sinapistrum Boissier; Brassica xinjiangensis Y. C. Lan & T. Y. Cheo; Sinapis kaber de Candolle;