If you’ve ever “eaten your greens,” odds are you’ve consumed members of the Brassicaceae, or Mustard family, of plants, which is what we’re looking for during this week of the Critter Calendar!
A huge family comprised of over 3,000 species, mustards contain some of the most economically important plants in the world. Many are eaten as food, such as Brassica oleracea, a species which has been cultivated into forms as diverse as broccoli, collard greens, cabbage and kale; and many are considered weeds in areas where they have been introduced, such as Black mustard.
A clue to help you identify mustard plants comes Cruciferae, an old name for the family. Cruciferae means “cross-bearing,” and refers to the shape of mustard flowers, which have four petals in an x-shaped pattern. Mustard flowers also have six stamens, four of which are long and arranged in a cross-like pattern, and four sepals. They are usually yellow, lavender or white in color.
Mustards also:
Some mustard plants you might see are rockcress, dyer’s woad, peppergrass, and wild radish, among the many many species of mustard plants.
We’ll be keeping track of your sightings here. Happy mustard hunting!
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