Brassica nigra (L.) W.D.J.Koch, Brassicaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: hei jie

English: black mustard, shortpod mustard, true mustard

French: chou noir, moutarde noire

Hawaiian: mākeke

Spanish: aleza, jeben, laparda, lujarda, mostada, mostaza negra

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Erect annual herbs 5-25 dm tall, branched above, sparsely hirsute, especially on lower parts of stem, or subglabrous.  Lower leaves deeply pinnatifid, with a large terminal lobe and a few small lateral ones, 10-20 cm long, 3-9 cm wide; cauline leaves gradually reduced, sessile, not clasping the stem.  Pedicels erect, 2-4 mm long; petals yellow, 7-8 mm long.  Siliques erect, appressed to the stem, 1-2 cm long, the beak sterile, 1-4 mm long.  Seeds dark reddish brown, globose, 1-1.3 mm in diameter, the surface finely reticulate"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 400).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in disturbed areas, especially along roadsides and in pastures" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 400).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Eurasia, now widely naturalized" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 400).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	extirpated	Skottsberg, Carl (1953) (p. 218) Previously reported but seems to have disappeared.
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 551)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 400)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 400)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 400)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Eastern Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd (2008) (pp. B-4)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Midway Atoll	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2003) (p. 25) Voucher cited: Starr & Martz 010526-1 (BISH)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Sand Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd (2008) (pp. B-4)

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. 147)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 147)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Slopes, steppe, field margins; 900-2800 m. Gansu, Jiangsu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Xizang.
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. 147)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 406) "A rare casual weed on waste land and among crops".

Additional information:
Information from the "Handbook of Energy Crops"  (James A. Duke. 1983. unpublished).

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

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

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

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

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).

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

Skottsberg, Carl. 1953. The natural history of Juan Fernandez and Easter Island. Vol. II, Botany. Almqvist &l; Wiksells, Uppsala. 960 pp.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd. 2008. Botanical survey of Midway Atoll. Prepared for: United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 27 pp. plus appendices.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 2003. New plant records from the Hawaiian Archipelago. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 74:23-34.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

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

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.

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