Stats

Lifespan: Annual
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: North Africa, Europe, Asia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Uncommon

About

Black mustard is a fast-growing annual that can tower over 2 metres tall, smothering roadsides and disturbed hillsides in waves of tiny yellow flowers. Its pungent seeds have been ground into condiments for thousands of years and are so vigorous that a single plant can shed tens of thousands of seeds in one season.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Mutarda
Species: Mutarda nigra