Brassica juncea

(Linnaeus) Czernajew

Consp. Pl. Charcov., 8. 1859.

Common names: Chinese or brown or Indian or leaf mustard mustard-greens
WeedyIntroduced
Basionym: Sinapis juncea Linnaeus Sp. Pl. 2: 668. 1753
Synonyms: Brassica japonica (Thunberg) Siebold ex Miquel Brassica juncea var. crispifolia L. H. Bailey Brassica juncea var. japonica (Thunberg) L. H. Bailey
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 7. Treatment on page 421. Mentioned on page 419, 420.

Annuals; (± glaucous), ± glabrous. Stems branched distally, 2–10 dm. Basal leaves (early deciduous); petiole (1–) 2–8 (–15) cm; blade pinnatifid to pinnately lobed, (4–) 6–30 (–80) cm × 15–150 (–280) mm, lobes 1–3 each side. Cauline leaves usually shortly petiolate, rarely sessile; blade (oblong or lanceolate, reduced in size distally), base tapered or cuneate, not auriculate or amplexicaul, (margins dentate to lobed). Racemes not paniculately branched. Fruiting pedicels spreading to divaricately ascending, (slender), (5–) 10–15 (–20) mm. Flowers: sepals (3.5–) 4–6 (–7) × 1–1.7 mm; petals pale-yellow, ovate to obovate, (7–) 9–13 × 5–7.5 mm, claw 3–6 mm, apex rounded or emarginate; filaments 4–7 mm; anthers 1.5–2 mm. Fruits (sessile); spreading to divaricately ascending to nearly erect (not appressed to rachis), torulose, subcylindrical or somewhat flattened, (2–) 3–5 (–6) cm × 2–5 mm; valvular segment with 6–15 (–20) seeds per locule, (1.5–) 2–4.5 cm, terminal segment seedless (conic), (4–) 5–10 (–15) mm, (tapering to slender style). Seeds brown or yellow, 1.2–2 mm diam.; seed-coat finely reticulate-alveolate, not mucilaginous when wetted. 2n = 36.


Phenology: Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat: Roadsides, disturbed areas, waste places, cultivated and abandoned fields, garden escape from cultivation
Elevation: 0-3000 m

Distribution

V7 621-distribution-map.gif

Introduced; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Ala., Alaska, Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo., Europe, Asia, Africa, also in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America, Australia

Discussion

Brassica juncea is cultivated in North America primarily as a vegetable and condiment, and is currently being developed as an oilseed crop in western Canada. Its greatest diversity of forms occurs in Asia, where the species is widely cultivated as a vegetable and as an oilseed crop (I. A. Al-Shehbaz 1985). Two main variants are distinguished on the basis of seed color: oriental mustard is yellow-seeded, and brown or Indian mustard is brown-seeded. The species is an allotetraploid derived from hybridization between B. nigra (n = 8) and B. rapa (n = 10). Its center of origin is uncertain but is most likely the Middle East, with possibly independent multiple origins within overlapping ranges of the putative parental taxa (S. I. Warwick and A. Francis 1994). Specimens from Delaware, District of Columbia, and Mississippi have not been observed, but are still listed here.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"elongated" is not a number."thick" is not a number."dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Brassica juncea"
ovate +  and oblong +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
emarginate +  and rounded +
Suzanne I. Warwick +
(Linnaeus) Czernajew +
not +  and rosulate +
amplexicaul +, not auriculate +, cuneate +  and tapered +
Sinapis juncea +
appendaged +  and unappendaged +
30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br /> (80 cm800 mm <br />0.8 m <br />) +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (28 cm280 mm <br />0.28 m <br />) +
not +  and auriculate +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
lyrate-pinnatifid +, dentate +  and entire +
dissected +, repand +, sinuate +, crenate +  and dentate +
pinnatifid;pinnately lobed +
much smaller +  and reduced +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
urceolate +, campanulate +  and tubular +
branched +  and simple +
sessile +  and petiolate +
well-developed +
distinct +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
differentiated +
Chinese or brown or Indian or leaf mustard +  and mustard-greens +
emarginate +  and entire +
incumbent +, accumbent +  and conduplicate +
Alta. +, B.C. +, Man. +, N.B. +, Nfld. and Labr. +, N.W.T. +, N.S. +, Ont. +, P.E.I. +, Que. +, Sask. +, Ala. +, Alaska +, Ariz. +, Ark. +, Calif. +, Colo. +, Conn. +, Del. +, D.C. +, Fla. +, Ga. +, Idaho +, Ill. +, Ind. +, Iowa +, Kans. +, Ky. +, La. +, Maine +, Md. +, Mass. +, Mich. +, Minn. +, Miss. +, Mo. +, Mont. +, Nebr. +, Nev. +, N.H. +, N.J. +, N.Mex. +, N.Y. +, N.C. +, N.Dak. +, Ohio +, Okla. +, Oreg. +, Pa. +, R.I. +, S.C. +, S.Dak. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +, Utah +, Vt. +, Va. +, Wash. +, W.Va. +, Wis. +, Wyo. +, Europe +, Asia +, Africa +, also in Mexico +, West Indies +, Central America +, South America +  and Australia +
0-3000 m +
straight +  and curved +
not winged +  and unappendaged +
connate +  and distinct +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
actinomorphic +
indehiscent +  and dehiscent +
spreading +  and divaricately ascending +
flattened +, subcylindrical +  and torulose +
stipitate +  and sessile +
Roadsides, disturbed areas, waste places, cultivated and abandoned fields, garden escape from cultivation +
sessile +  and petiolate +
alternate +, not +  and rosulate +
cauline +  and basal +
connate +  and distinct +
decurrent +
sinuate-serrate;lobed;sinuate-serrate;lobed;dentate +
not +  and confluent +
tenuinucellate +, crassinucellate +  and bitegmic +
campylotropous +  and anatropous +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
pale-yellow +
9mm;13mm +
rudimentary +
ovate +  and obovate +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.75 cm7.5 mm <br />0.0075 m <br />) +
8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
Flowering May–Sep. +
trinucleate +  and 3(-11)-colpate +
Consp. Pl. Charcov., +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
spreading +  and divaricately ascending +
slender +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
mucilaginous +
reticulate-alveolate +
aseriate +, uniseriate +  and biseriate +
not +  and mucilaginous +
yellow +  and brown +
1.2mm;2mm +
6 +  and 15 +
globose +
4-angled +, terete +  and torulose +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
persistent +  and caducous +
distinct +
spreading +, ascending +  and erect +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.17 cm1.7 mm <br />0.0017 m <br />) +
reduced +
indehiscent +  and dehiscent +
terete +  and segmented +
indehiscent +  and dehiscent +
terete +  and segmented +
Weedy +  and Introduced +
tetradynamous +
procumbent +  and decumbent +
2-lobed +  and entire +
subsessile +, sessile +  and petiolate +
persistent +
distinct +
Brassica japonica +, Brassica juncea var. crispifolia +  and Brassica juncea var. japonica +
Brassica juncea +
Brassica +
species +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
scale-like +  and forked +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (4.5 cm45 mm <br />0.045 m <br />) +
anastomosing +
rhizomatous +, taprooted +, scapose +  and not +
perennial +, biennial +  and annual +
subshrub +  and herb +
aquatics +  and terrestrial +
glabrous +  and pubescent +
11 +, 10 +, 9 +, 8 +  and 7 +