Brassica juncea (L.) Czern., Brassicaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 15 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: mostaza

Chinese: jie cai

English: brown mustard, canola, Chinese mustard, India mustard, Indian mustard, leaf mustard, mustard, mustard cabbage, Oriental mustard

French: choux faux jonc, moutarde brune, moutarde de Chine, moutarde de l'Indie, moutarde de sarepta, moutarde frisée, moutarde indienne

Hindi: saiso

I-Kiribati: te kabiti, te kabiti n Tiaina

Japanese: irana, karashi, setsuriko, takana

Spanish: mostacilla, mostaza de la China, mostaza de la tierra, mostaza de Sarepta, mostaza India

Tahitian: pota tinito

Tongan: pauteni

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herbs annual, (20-) 30-100 (-180) cm tall, pubescent or rarely glabrous, glaucous or not, sometimes with fleshy taproots. Stems erect, branched above. Basal and lowermost cauline leaves long petiolate; petiole (1-) 2-8 (-15) cm; leaf blade ovate, oblong, or lanceolate in outline, (4-) 6-30 (-80) x 1.5-15 (-28) cm, lyrate-pinnatifid or pinnatisect; terminal lobe ovate, repand, dentate, or incised; lateral lobes 1-3 on each side of midvein, much smaller than terminal lobe, crisped incised, dentate, repand, or entire. Upper cauline leaves petiolate or subsessile, oblanceolate, oblong, lanceolate, or linear, to 10 x 5 cm, base cuneate to attenuate, margin entire or repand, rarely dentate. Fruiting pedicels straight, divaricate, (0.5-) 0.8-1.5 (-2) cm. Sepals oblong, (3.5-) 4-6 (-7) x 1-1.7 mm, spreading. Petals yellow, (6.5-) 8-11 (-13) x 5-7.5 mm, ovate or obovate, apex rounded or emarginate; claw 3-6 mm. Filaments 4-7 mm; anthers oblong, 1.5-2 mm. Fruit linear, (2-) 3-5 (-6) cm x 3-4 (-5) mm, terete or slightly 4-angled, sessile, divaricate or ascending; valvular segment (1.5-) 2-4.5 cm, 6-15(-20)-seeded per locule; valves with a prominent midvein, slightly torulose; terminal segment conical, (4-) 5-10 (-15) mm, seedless; style often obsolete. Seeds dark to light brown or gray, globose, 1-1.7 mm in diameter, minutely reticulate"  (Flora of China online).

"Glabrate and somewhat glaucous annual herbs 3-12 dm tall, branched above.  Lower leaves lyrate-pinnatifid, 10-20 cm long, 5-8 cm wide, upper leaves reduced, eventually becoming linear-lanceolate, margins usually entire, sessile, not clasping the stem.  Pedicels spreading, 8-15 mm long; petals yellow, 8-12 mm long.  Siliques erect, spreading, (2-) 3-4 cm long, the beak 4-9 mm long.  Seeds brownish red, globose, 1.5-2 mm in diameter, the surface inconspicuously reticulate" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 400).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "apparently escaped from cultivation and naturalized" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 400).  In Fiji, "cultivated on a small scale and also seen as a naturalized weed in waste places and in canefields from near sea level to about 150 m" (Smith, 1981). In New Caledonia, "toujours trouvé comme mauvaise herbeé (MacKee, 1994; p. 43). "Elle n'est actuellement trouvée que dans les terrains vagues et constitue une mauvaise herbe dans les jardins et les cultures" (Jonsell, 1997; pp. 84, 86).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Asia, now widely naturalized" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 400). Possibly of African origin (Smith, 1981; pp. 705-706).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 8) "A weed of agricultural land". Voucher cited: W.R. Sykes NI 495 (CHR)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Kandavu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (pp. 705-706) Voucher cited: Seemann 9
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (pp. 705-706) Vouchers cited: DA 11481, Greenwood 301A
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (pp. 705-706) Vouchers cited: Greenwood 301, DA 11466, Gillespie 3548
French Polynesia Clipperton Island	Clipperton (Arue, Avera) Island	introduced invasive	Sachet, M.-H. (1962)
French Polynesia Clipperton Island	Clipperton (Arue, Avera) Island		Sachet, M.-H. (1962) (p. 93)
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced cultivated	St. John, Harold (1988) (p. 14) Voucher cited: Fosberg 11016 (BISH)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 8463 (PAP) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Huka (Huahuna, Uahuka) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Bora Bora Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 90) Voucher cited: Grant 5050
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 90) Voucher cited: Moore 217
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 90) Voucher cited: Grant 4527
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 5360 (PAP) Naturalisée. "Mauvaise herbe des cultures".
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Makatea (Ma‘atea) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 4036 (PAP) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Toau (Tovau) Atoll	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 10243 (PAP) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Raivavae (Raevavae) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence & W.R. Sykes 11201 (PAP) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rimatara (Rimitara) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Vouchers cited: J. Florence 6060 (PAP), J. Florence 6189 (PAP) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Tubuai Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (pp. 287-288) Occasionally cultivated.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 82)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 400) Voucher cited: Fagerlund & Mitchell 229 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced	Wester, Lyndon (1992) (p. 132)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Tarawa Atoll		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 89) Presence not verified.
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 76)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 109)
New Caledonia Récifs D'Entrecasteaux (D'Entrecasteaux Reefs)	Île Surprise	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 43) Voucher cited: Boulet in MacKee 31448
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Îles Loyauté (Loyalty Islands)	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Lifou	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 43) Voucher cited: Hoff 1233 (NOU)
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Walpole	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 43) Voucher cited: Cherrier in MacKee 44044
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 43) Voucher cited: Baumann 5268
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 75) Rare per Sykes. Voucher cited: CHR 170270
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive	Yuncker, T. G. (1943) (p. 57) Voucher cited: Yuncker 9896 (BISH) "A weed along roadsides and in waste areas".
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 207) In towns, near houses, etc., planted and spontaneous.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 145)
Canada Province of British Columbia	Canada (British Columbia)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
Canada Canada	Canada (country)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Fields, waste places, roadsides. Cultivated throughout China, sometimes naturalized especially in SW China".
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 110) Also var. foliosa.
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 183)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 145)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 405) "Roadsides, sandy beaches, waste land".
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Cocos (Keeling) Islands	native	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1993) (p. 37)
Maldives Maldive Islands	Malè Atoll		Fosberg, F. R. (1957) (p. 19)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Brassica juncea is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Brassica juncea as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Brassica juncea may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R. 1957. The Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 58. Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington. 37 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias. 1988. Dicot weeds, vol. 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 335 pp.

Jonsell, B. 1997. Cruciferae. In: Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et Depéndances. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. Vol. 21.

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1993. Flora of Australia. Vol. 50, Oceanic islands 2. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Sachet, M.-H. 1962. Flora and vegetation of Clipperton Island. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 4th ser., v.31, no.10. The Academy, San Francisco. .

Sachet, M.-H. 1962. Geography and land ecology of Clipperton Island. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 86. Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington. 115 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1981. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 2. 810 pp.

St. John, Harold. 1988. Census of the Flora of the Gambier Islands, Polynesia. Pacific Plant Studies 43. Honolulu, Hawaii. 34 pp. [Privately published].

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

Thaman, R. R. 1987. Plants of Kiribati: a listing and analysis of vernacular names. Atoll Res. Bull. 296:1-42.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.

Wester, Lyndon. 1992. Origin and distribution of adventive flowering plants in Hawai‘i. In: Stone, Charles P.; Smith, Clifford W. and Tunison, J. Timothy. Alien plant invasions in native ecosystems of Hawaii: Management and Research. University of Hawaii, Cooperative National Park Research Studies Unit, Honolulu. University of Hawaii Press. .

Whistler, W. A. 1991. The ethnobotany of Tonga: The plants, their Tongan names, and their uses. Bishop Museum Bulletin in Botany 2. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 155 pp. ISBN 0-930897-57-9.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Yuncker, T. G. 1943. The flora of Niue Island. Bishop Mus. Bull. 178. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 126 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).