Black mustard

Is mustard a wild flower? It counts as one if it has spread beyond the confines of cultivated crops, and that is certainly the case in parts of the United Kingdom where it grows as a wayside weed.

The black mustard plant (Brassica nigra) grows upright to a maximum height of 36 inches. The stems are thick and hairy towards the base but much thinner and hairless higher up. The large leaves grow on stalks, close to the ground, and the flower stems shoot much higher. The flowers grow in clusters, each having four yellow petals that are twice the length of the green sepals. Flowering begins in May. As the lower flowers die off they leave long seed-pods hugging the stem.

The name “black” refers to the round seeds that are dark brown to black on the outside but, when crushed, produce the familiar yellow powder that is used for making table mustard.

The use of mustard as a condiment only began in the 13^th century in France, with the ground-up seeds being mixed with partly fermented grape juice, known as “must”, to produce “moût-ardent” which translates as “burning must”. This became contracted in French to “moutarde” and “mustard” in English.

Fields of black mustard used to be a common sight in England, particularly East Anglia, but most commercially produced mustard powder is now derived from rape, to which the black mustard plant is related. The familiar sight of yellow fields during summertime is almost entirely due to the growing of rape, which has many uses other than making hot dogs taste spicier!

Mustard also has medicinal uses, as anyone with a stinking cold will know if they have tried soaking their feet in a mustard bath. It is also effective as a poultice for relieving chest ailments and muscular pains.

© John Welford