Practical
Plants

Sinapis alba

White Mustard

an annual member of the Sinapis genus in the family Brassicaceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Genus
Sinapis
Life cycle
annual
Growth rate
vigorous
Height
0.6 m
Spread
0.3 m
Fertility
Bees, Flies, Wind
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees, Flies, Wind

Uses

Toxicity

Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The seed contains substances that irritate the skin and mucous membranes[13]. The plant is possibly poisonous once the seedpods have formed[26].

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Leaves - raw or cooked[9][21][4][22]. A hot pungent flavour, especially if eaten raw[K]. Young leaves are used as a flavouring in mixed salads, whilst older leaves are used as a potherb[8]. Seed - sprouted and eaten raw[1][17][18][22]. The seed takes about 4 days to be ready[14]. A hot flavour, it is often used in salads. A nutritional analysis is available[12]. The seed can be ground into a powder and used as a food flavouring[5][17][29][6], it is the 'white mustard' of commerce[2][3]. This is milder than the black mustard obtained from Brassica nigra[8]. The 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[13].

Product or use
Condiment
Plant part
Leaves
Plant part
Seed

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The seed is antibacterial, antifungal, appetizer, carminative, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, emetic, expectorant, rubefacient and stimulant[4][7][12][13]. The seed has a cathartic action due to hydrolytic liberation of hydrogen sulphide[12]. In China it is used in the treatment of coughs with profuse phlegm and tuberculosis, pleurisy[7]. The seed is seldom used internally as a medicine in the west[13]. Externally it is usually made into mustard plasters (using the ground seed), poultices or added to the bath water. It is used in the treatment of respiratory infections, arthritic joints, chilblains and skin eruptions etc[13]. At a ratio of 1:3, the seed has an inhibitory action on the growth of fungus[7]. Care should be exercised in using this remedy because the seed contains substances that are extremely irritant to the skin and mucous membranes[13]. The leaves are carminative[12].

Product or use
Antibacterial
Product or use
Antifungal
Product or use
Appetizer
Product or use
Carminative
Product or use
Cathartic
Product or use
Diaphoretic
Product or use
Digestive
Product or use
Diuretic
Product or use
Emetic
Product or use
Expectorant
Product or use
Rubefacient
Product or use
Stimulant
Product or use
Vesicant

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The seed contains up to 35% of a semi-drying oil[25]. It is used as a lubricant and for lighting etc[11][20][23][24]. The plant can be grown as a green manure crop[5][29]. It is very fast growing, producing a good bulk in just a few weeks from seed, but it is shallow rooted so does not do so well in dry periods[28]. It is also susceptible to all the diseases of the cabbage family such as club-root so is best avoided if this is likely to be a problem[5].

Product or use
Oil

Environment

Range
Europe - Mediterranean. Naturalized in Britain[5].
Habitat
A weed of arable and waste land, especially on calcareous soils[5].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 6+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
False
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow in situ from early spring to late summer. Germination takes place in less than a week. The earlier sowings are for a seed crop, the later sowings are for edible leaves and green manure[27]. When sowing seed for use in mustard and cress, the seed is soaked for about 12 hours in warm water and then placed in a humid position. Traditionally, it is sown in a tray on a thin layer of soil, or on some moist blotting paper, and the tray is placed in a warm dark place for a few days to encourage rapid and rather etiolated growth. The seedlings can then be placed in a lighter position for a couple more days to turn green before being eaten. The mustard seed should be sown about 3 - 4 days later than the cress for them both to be ready at the same time[15].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Prefers a light well-drained soil[22]. Succeeds on most soils when growing in a sunny position[13]. For best production, it requires high nutrient soils with a high level of nitrogen, but it may be grown on a wide range of soils from light to heavy, growing best on relatively heavy sandy loamy soils[16]. It is not suited to very wet soils[16]. White mustard grows best where the annual precipitation varies from 35 to 179cm, annual temperature from 5.6 to 24.9°C and pH from 4.5 to 8.2[16]. White mustard is a quick-growing long-day annual which prefers temperate climates with some humidity. It is sometimes cultivated, both in the garden and commercially, for its edible seed[19][8]. The plant can withstand high temperatures, but very hot days during flowering and ripening may reduce seed setting and lower quality of seed[16]. There are some named varieties[8]. It is a very fast growing plant, but requires plenty of moisture for optimum growth[28]. Seed yields are usually a bit less than 1 tonne per hectare, though experimental plantings have suggested that up to 8 tonnes per hectare is possible[16]. White mustard is sometimes also grown as a seed sprout, usually with cress seeds (Lepidium sativum) to supply mustard and cress. This is a mixture of the two types of sprouted seeds, used when about 7 - 10 days old[K]. The mustard seed should be sown three days before the cress seed[13]. The plant is not very deep rooted[28], it self-sows freely when in a suitable site[4].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩

  2. Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969-00-00 ISBN 0192176218

    ↩

  3. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩

  4. Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979-00-00 ISBN 0-87857-262-7

    ↩1↩2↩3

  5. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

  6. Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952-00-00

    ↩

  7. Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  8. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  9. Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6

    ↩

  10. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

  11. Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983-00-00 ISBN 0-553-23827-2

    ↩

  12. Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  13. Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0-7513-020-31

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7↩8

  14. Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-330-30725-8

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  15. Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Vegetables Macmillan Reference Books, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0 333 62640 0

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  16. Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

  17. Harrison. S. Wallis. M. Masefield. G. The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press 1975-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  18. Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878-00-00

    ↩

  19. Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984-00-00 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9

    ↩

  20. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

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  21. Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974-00-00 ISBN 0-00-219060-5

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  22. Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn 1980-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  23. Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.

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  24. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

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  25. Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00

    ↩

  26. Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984-00-00 ISBN 0112425291

    ↩

  27. Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20278-X

    ↩

  28. Woodward. L. Burge. P. Green Manures. Elm Farm Research Centre. 1982-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  29. Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press 1987-00-00 ISBN 0-7012-0784-1

    ↩1↩2

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