White Mustard / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible

Common Name

White Mustard 

Botanical Name

Sinapis alba

Scientific Classification

Kingdom – Plantae

Order –Brassicales 

Family – Brassicaceae

Physical Characteristics

Flowers

The whole plant can grow to nearly a metre tall, and tend to branch, ending in small clusters of yellow flowers.

Leaves

The leaves are long, with varying degrees of invagination along the leaf stem. Some are hairier than others. The leaves are not paired, and they leave the main stem singly.

Seeds

The seed pods are small and visibly contain multiple small seeds with a characteristically mustard-y taste.

Habitat

White Mustard is more common in eastern areas and prefers more Mediterranean climates.

They have been cultivated widely, and therefore have also escaped widely. Found in hedgerows, waysides, coastal paths and banks.

Known Hazards 

While generally safe to consume in normal quantities, white mustard seeds can pose some hazards, including allergic reactions, digestive upset with excessive consumption, and potential skin irritation from contact.

Could be Confused with

Black mustard (Brassica nigra), Charlock (Sinapis arvensis) and other Brassica’s. None is a problem as they are all edible and tasty, they will simply may lack the mustard-like seed pods.

Click here to read more about the Cabbage family.

Edible Uses

All the aerial parts are good additions to foods like salads, quiches, salads and condiments. You can harvest a larger amount of mustard seeds and powder them for a wild addition to your spice rack and home remedy collection.

Late Spring to Summer these plants will be out in flower, leaf and seed, sometimes with a small revival in early Autumn.

Notes on Herbal uses

Being a common group of plants, many mustard family plants have been used ubiquitously in folk medicine, with varying degrees of success. The peppery tasting compounds have been prized for their counter-irritant, inflammation-modulating action on arthritis and rheumatism, but care should be taken with ‘mustard poultices’ because the skin can actually burn and blister. These plants stimulate the circulation.

Extra notes from the Foragers

The name mustard was first recorded in France in 1288 and has its roots in the Latin for ‘burning (ardent) must’. It was often ground with grape must to make into remedies.