''Brassica nigra'', or black mustard, is an

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical l ...

cultivated for its dark-brown-to-black seeds, which are commonly used as a spice. It is native to tropical regions of North Africa, temperate regions of Europe, and parts of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Description

It is an upright plant, with large stalked leaves. They are covered with hairs or bristles at the base, but on the stem smoother. It can reach up to tall in moist fertile soil. It blooms in summer, from May (in the UK) onwards. The flowers have four yellow petals, which are twice as long as the sepals. Each stem has around four flowers at the top, forming a ring around the stem. Later, the plant forms long seed pods, that contain four rounded seeds.

Taxonomy

It was formally described by Karl Koch in "Deutschl. Fl." (or Deutschlands Flora) ed.3 on page 713 in 1833. This was based on a description by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus. The Latin specific epithet ''nigra'' is derived from the Latin word for black. This is due to the black seeds.

Distribution and habitat

It is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to tropical regions of North Africa, temperate regions of Europe and parts of Asia.

Range

It is found in North Africa, within

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Ethiopia, Morocco and Tunisia. Within Asia it is found in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, the Caucasus, China (in the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

of Gansu, Jiangsu,

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest pop ...

, Xinjiang and Xizang), Cyprus, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. In eastern Europe, it is found within Belarus,

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

and Ukraine. In middle Europe, it is in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...

, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland. In northern Europe, in Ireland and United Kingdom. In southeastern Europe, within

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares la ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...

, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. Also in southwestern Europe, it is found in France and Spain. It was introduced to the Pacific coast of North America and is considered an invasive species.

Uses

More than 2,000 years ago, the plant was used as a

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is served separat ...

; it was mentioned by the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

author

Columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

in the 1st century A.D. The plant leaves were also

pickled Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called a ...

in vinegar. In 13th century France the seeds were ground and used. They were mixed with unfermented grape juice (must) to create "moût-ardent" ("burning must"). This became later "moutarde", or mustard in English. A spice is generally made from ground seeds of the plant, with the seed coats removed. The small (1 mm) seeds are hard and vary in color from dark brown to black. They are flavorful, although they have almost no aroma. The seeds are commonly used in Indian cuisine, for example in

curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradi ...

, where it is known as ''rai''. The seeds are usually thrown into hot oil or ghee, after which they pop, releasing a characteristic nutty flavor. The seeds have a significant amount of fatty oil, mainly oleic acid. This oil is used often as

cooking oil Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil ...

in India, where it is called "sarson ka tel". The young leaves, buds and flowers are edible. In Ethiopia, where the plant is cultivated as a vegetable in Gondar,

Harar Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saint ...

and

Shewa Shewa ( am, ሸዋ; , om, Shawaa), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa (''Scioà'' in Italian), is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital A ...

, the shoots and leaves are consumed cooked and the seeds used as a spice. Its

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

name is ''senafitch''. Black mustard is thought to be the seed mentioned by Jesus in the Parable of the Mustard Seed. Since the 1950s, black mustard has become less popular as compared to

brown mustard ''Brassica juncea'', commonly brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard, is a species of mustard plant. Cultivar ''Brassica juncea'' cultivars can be divided into four major subgroups ...

, because some cultivars of brown mustard have seeds that can be mechanically harvested in a more efficient manner.

Folk medicine

In the UK, the plant was used to make "hot mustard baths", which would aid people with colds. Ground seeds of the plant mixed with honey are widely used in eastern Europe as cough suppressant. In Eastern Canada, the use of to treat respiratory infections was popular before the advent of modern medicine. It consisted in mixing ground mustard seeds with flour and water, and creating a cataplasm with the paste. This poultice was put on the chest or the back and left until the person felt a stinging sensation. Mustard poultice could also be used to aid muscular pains.

Similar plants

Despite their similar common names, black mustard and

white mustard White mustard (''Sinapis alba'') is an annual plant of the family Brassicaceae. It is sometimes also referred to as ''Brassica alba'' or ''B. hirta''. Grown for its seeds, used to make the condiment mustard, as fodder crop, or as a green manure ...

(genus ''

Sinapis ''Sinapis'' is a genus of plants in the family Brassicaceae. , six species are recognised by ''The Plant List'': *'' Sinapis alba'' L. – white mustard, formerly ''Brassica alba'' *'' Sinapis allionii'' Jacq. *''Sinapis arvensis ''Sinapis ar ...

'') are not closely related. Black mustard belongs to the same genus as

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nbs ...

and

turnips The turnip or white turnip (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and '' ...

. ''B. nigra'' also resembles '' Hirschfeldia incana'', or hoary mustard, (formerly ''Brassica geniculata''), which is a perennial plant.

References

External links

Entry in Gernot Katzer's spice pages
with pictures and detailed information

{{Taxonbar, from=Q381942 nigra Spices Medicinal plants of Asia Medicinal plants of Europe Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Flora of Eritrea Flora of Ethiopia Flora of Afghanistan Flora of Armenia Flora of the Caucasus Flora of China Flora of Iran Flora of Iraq Flora of Israel Flora of Kazakhstan Flora of Lebanon and Syria Flora of Palestine (region) Leaf vegetables Oil seeds Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus