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Sinapis alba - L.

White Mustard

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Cruciferae	Genus	Sinapis
Synonyms	Brassica alba - (L.)Rabenh. Brassica hirta - Moench.
Known Hazards	The seed contains substances that irritate the skin and mucous membranes[238]. The plant is possibly poisonous once the seedpods have formed[76].
Range	Europe - Mediterranean. Naturalized in Britain[17].
Habitat	A weed of arable and waste land, especially on calcareous soils[17].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	3 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.6m by 0.3m at a fast rate.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves; Seed.

Edible Uses: Condiment.

Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 5, 14, 52]. A hot pungent flavour, especially if eaten raw[K]. Young leaves are used as a flavouring in mixed salads, whilst older leaves are used as a potherb[183]. Seed - sprouted and eaten raw[1, 34, 37, 52]. The seed takes about 4 days to be ready[244]. A hot flavour, it is often used in salads. A nutritional analysis is available[218]. The seed can be ground into a powder and used as a food flavouring[17, 34, 89, 171], it is the 'white mustard' of commerce[100, 105]. This is milder than the black mustard obtained from Brassica nigra[183]. The pungency of mustard develops when cold water is added to the ground-up seed - an enzyme (myrosin) acts on a glycoside (sinigrin) to produce a sulphur compound. The reaction takes 10 - 15 minutes. Mixing with hot water or vinegar, or adding salt, inhibits the enzyme and produces a mild bitter mustard[238].

Composition

Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.

Seed (Dry weight)

• 500 Calories per 100g
• Water: 0%
• Protein: 27.2g; Fat: 35g; Carbohydrate: 34g; Fibre: 6g; Ash: 4.5g;
• Minerals - Calcium: 500mg; Phosphorus: 800mg; Iron: 16mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 5mg; Potassium: 732mg; Zinc: 0mg;
• Vitamins - A: 400mg; Thiamine (B1): 0.5mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0.37mg; Niacin: 8mg; B6: 0mg; C: 0mg;
• Reference: [218]
• Notes: These are median figures of a range given in the report.

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antibacterial; Antifungal; Appetizer; Carminative; Cathartic; Diaphoretic; Digestive; Diuretic; Emetic; Expectorant; Rubefacient; Stimulant; Vesicant.

The seed is antibacterial, antifungal, appetizer, carminative, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, emetic, expectorant, rubefacient and stimulant[14, 176, 218, 238]. The seed has a cathartic action due to hydrolytic liberation of hydrogen sulphide[218]. In China it is used in the treatment of coughs with profuse phlegm and tuberculosis, pleurisy[176]. The seed is seldom used internally as a medicine in the west[238]. Externally it is usually made into mustard plasters (using the ground seed), poultices or added to the bath water. It is used in the treatment of respiratory infections, arthritic joints, chilblains and skin eruptions etc[238]. At a ratio of 1:3, the seed has an inhibitory action on the growth of fungus[176]. Care should be exercised in using this remedy because the seed contains substances that are extremely irritant to the skin and mucous membranes[238]. The leaves are carminative[218].

Other Uses

Green manure; Oil.

The seed contains up to 35% of a semi-drying oil[74]. It is used as a lubricant and for lighting etc[21, 46, 57, 61]. The plant can be grown as a green manure crop[17, 89]. It is very fast growing, producing a good bulk in just a few weeks from seed, but it is shallow rooted so does not do so well in dry periods[87]. It is also susceptible to all the diseases of the cabbage family such as club-root so is best avoided if this is likely to be a problem[17].

Cultivation details

Prefers a light well-drained soil[52]. Succeeds on most soils when growing in a sunny position[238]. For best production, it requires high nutrient soils with a high level of nitrogen, but it may be grown on a wide range of soils from light to heavy, growing best on relatively heavy sandy loamy soils[269]. It is not suited to very wet soils[269]. White mustard grows best where the annual precipitation varies from 35 to 179cm, annual temperature from 5.6 to 24.9°C and pH from 4.5 to 8.2[269]. White mustard is a quick-growing long-day annual which prefers temperate climates with some humidity. It is sometimes cultivated, both in the garden and commercially, for its edible seed[4, 183]. The plant can withstand high temperatures, but very hot days during flowering and ripening may reduce seed setting and lower quality of seed[269]. There are some named varieties[183]. It is a very fast growing plant, but requires plenty of moisture for optimum growth[87]. Seed yields are usually a bit less than 1 tonne per hectare, though experimental plantings have suggested that up to 8 tonnes per hectare is possible[269]. White mustard is sometimes also grown as a seed sprout, usually with cress seeds (Lepidium sativum) to supply mustard and cress. This is a mixture of the two types of sprouted seeds, used when about 7 - 10 days old[K]. The mustard seed should be sown three days before the cress seed[238]. The plant is not very deep rooted[87], it self-sows freely when in a suitable site[14].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ from early spring to late summer. Germination takes place in less than a week. The earlier sowings are for a seed crop, the later sowings are for edible leaves and green manure[82]. When sowing seed for use in mustard and cress, the seed is soaked for about 12 hours in warm water and then placed in a humid position. Traditionally, it is sown in a tray on a thin layer of soil, or on some moist blotting paper, and the tray is placed in a warm dark place for a few days to encourage rapid and rather etiolated growth. The seedlings can then be placed in a lighter position for a couple more days to turn green before being eaten. The mustard seed should be sown about 3 - 4 days later than the cress for them both to be ready at the same time[264].

Cultivars

No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Alternative Lighting: Plant Oils and Waxes.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[14] Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7
A good herbal.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[34] Harrison. S. Wallis. M. Masefield. G. The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press 1975
Good drawings of some of the more common food plants from around the world. Not much information though.

[37] Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[52] Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn 1980
A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man. 0
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[87] Woodward. L. Burge. P. Green Manures. Elm Farm Research Centre. 1982
Green manure crops for temperate areas. Quite a lot of information on a number of species.

[89] Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press 1987 ISBN 0-7012-0784-1
A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
An excellent Chinese herbal giving information on over 500 species. Rather technical and probably best suited to the more accomplished user of herbs.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

[264] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Vegetables Macmillan Reference Books, London. 1995 ISBN 0 333 62640 0
Excellent and easily read book with good information and an excellent collection of photos of vegetables from around the world, including many unusual species.

[269] Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Sinapis alba

Stephen Mifsud Tue Feb 25 12:01:14 2003

Link: MarZ Kreations - Maltese Wild Plants Malta Online Database - Information, botanical details, high quality photos

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