''Neslia'' is a monotypic plant

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the family

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older but equally valid) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important Family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous pla ...

. The only extant species is ''Neslia paniculata''

Neslia paniculata

''Neslia paniculata'' (commonly called ball mustard) is a plant

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the family

. The name comes from the ball-shaped fruits that contain a single seed within an

indehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that ...

fruit coat. It is an annual where the seeds germinate in autumn to winter and grow into a flattened rosette of leaves that develop vertical flowering stems in the spring. These can be up to 1 metre tall. The flowers open in late spring/early summer and the seeds are mature by summer. It is a native plant of temperate regions of Eurasia. It can also be found in much of the northern and southern regions of the Americas, Australia and also

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. It is considered a weed in many of these regions introduced from agricultural seed and can be a problem in cereal and especially other brassica crops. Its seed pods can contaminate harvests of mustard and rape/canola, even after cleaning. At the other end of the spectrum, within some its original region it has become a threatened or rare arable plant as a consequence of improved agricultural practices. Neslia paniculata s. str. sl2.jpg Neslia paniculata s. str. sl10.jpg Neslia paniculata s. str. sl11.jpg

References

Brassicaceae Monotypic Brassicaceae genera {{Brassicales-stub