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

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: black mustard, shortpod mustard, true mustard

French: chou noir, moutarde noire

Hawaiian: mākeke

Spanish: aleza, jeben, laparda, lujarda, 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
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	Midway Atoll	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2003) (p. 25) Voucher cited: Starr & Martz 010526-1 (BISH)

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)
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).

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

References:

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

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. 2006. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. 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.