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Habitats
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Cultivated Beds;
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Edible Uses
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Edible Parts: Leaves; Oil; Seed.
Edible Uses: Condiment; Oil.
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].
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Composition
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Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.
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Seed (Dry weight)
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- 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.
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Medicinal Uses
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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; Antirheumatic; 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].
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Other Uses
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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].
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Cultivation details
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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].
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Propagation
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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].
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 You can download this page as a PDF
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Botanical References
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17200
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Links / References
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[K] Ken Fern Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
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[1]F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
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Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
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[2]Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
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Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
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[4]Grieve. A Modern Herbal.
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Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
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[5]Mabey. R. Food for Free.
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Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
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[14]Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs.
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A good herbal.
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[17]Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles.
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A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
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[21]Lust. J. The Herb Book.
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Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
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[34]Harrison. S. Wallis. M. Masefield. G. The Oxford Book of Food Plants.
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Good drawings of some of the more common food plants from around the world. Not much information though.
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[37]Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant.
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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.
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[46]Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants.
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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.
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[52]Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round.
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A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.
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[57]Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
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Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
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[61]Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man.
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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.
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[74]Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR.
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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.
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[82]Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America.
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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.
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[87]Woodward. L. Burge. P. Green Manures.
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Green manure crops for temperate areas. Quite a lot of information on a number of species.
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[89]Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean.
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A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.
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[100]Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide.
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An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
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[105]Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
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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.
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[171]Hill. A. F. Economic Botany.
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Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.
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[176]Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas.
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An excellent Chinese herbal giving information on over 500 species. Rather technical and probably best suited to the more accomplished user of herbs.
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[183]Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
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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.
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[218]Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China
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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.
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[238]Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses.
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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.
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[244]Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs
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Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.
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[264]Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Vegetables
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Excellent and easily read book with good information and an excellent collection of photos of vegetables from around the world, including many unusual species.
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[269]Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops
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Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.
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[301]Karalliedde. L. and Gawarammana. I. Traditional Herbal Medicines
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A guide to the safer use of herbal medicines.
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