Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.

Herb

Brassica species are annual, biennial, perennial rarely undershrubs, glaucous or sparsely hirsute. Rootstock slender or tuberous. Stem erect or ascending, simple or branched. Basal radical leaves in rosulate or not, oblong to oblanceolate, pinnatifid or pinnatisect, base amplexicaul, margin dentate or entire, glabrous or pubescent, apex obtuse, petiolate or sessile, cauline leaves sagittate or auriculate, base attenuate or cuneate, margin dentate or rarely entire, apex acute, petiole subsessile or sessile. Inflorescence raceme corymbs, axillary or terminal, many flowered, elongated in fruit, ebracteate. Flowers bisexual, yellow rarely white or pink, actinomorphic, pedicel slender, sepals 4, erect, oblong or ovate, glabrous or pubescent, basal pair saccate or not, petals 4, spathulate-obovate, margin entire, apex obtuse, almost twice long as than sepals, clawed, almost equal or slightly longer than sepals. Stamens 6, tetradynamous, filaments not dilated at the base, anthers oblong-ovate, nectar glands 4, lateral and median, ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous, linear, ovules 4-48, style distinct, stigma capitate or bilobed. Fruit siliqua, dehiscent, linear oblong, erect or slightly curved, compressed, valves papery, prominent midveined, torulose or smooth, glabrous or rarely pubescent, style short or obsolete. Seeds few to many, uniseriate, rarely biseriate, not winged, globose-ovoid, minutely reticulate, mucilaginous or not when soaked, cotyledons conduplicate.

Flowering class: Dicot Habit: Herb Distribution notes: Exotic

Flowering and fruiting: May-July

Brassica species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects, or cleistogamy i.e., by self or allogamy i.e., by cross pollination. Flowering/Fruiting: MONTH.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, anemochory i.e., wind dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Erect annual herbs, about 20-100 cm tall. Rootstock tuberous. Stem sparsely branched. Basal leaves in not rosulate, broadly oblong to oblanceolate, lyrately-pinnatifid, about 6-22 x 2.5-16 cm across, base cuneate, margin shallow dentate, apex obtuse, glabrous or pubescent, petiolate about 2-10 cm long, middle leaves oblong-ovate, upper cauline leaves linear-lanceolate or narrow oblong-oblanceolate, about 2-6 x 0.7-2 cm across, base attenuate or cuneate, margin entire or rarely shallow dentate, petiole sessile. Inflorescence racemes, axillary or terminal, many flowered, elongated in fruit, ebracteate. Flowers bisexual, bright yellow, actinomorphic, pedicel erect, divaricate, slender, sepals 4, oblong, about 4-5 x 1-1.5 mm across, petals 4, spathulate-obovate, base attenuate or caudate, margin entire, apex obtuse or shallow emarginate, about 3-9 x 5-7 mm across, claw about 3-6 mm across. Stamens 6, tetradynamous, filaments about 4-7 mm long, anthers oblong-ovate, about 2 mm long, nectar glands 4, lateral and median, ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous, linear, ovules 4-40, style distinct, stigma capitate or bilobed. Fruit siliqua, dehiscent, linear oblong, erect or slightly curved, compressed, valves papery, prominent midveined, about 2-5 cm long, torulose or smooth, glabrous or rarely pubescent, style short or obsolete. Seeds 4-20, uniseriate, not winged, light brown, globose-ovoid, about 1.5-1.8 mm across, minutely reticulate, mucilaginous when soaked, cotyledons conduplicate.

Brassica species are susceptible to insect pests, virus, mildews and rusts.

Cultivated fields and roadsides.

Cultivated

Cultivated

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Widely used as spice, leaves used as vegetable, seed oil used in pickles and cooking.

Medicinal