Weed Information: Sinapis alba (mustard, white)
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Sinapis alba (mustard, white)

Family: Brassicaceae

Description

Very similar to the other Sinapis (Brassica) species except that the seed bearing portion of the fruit is covered with stiff hairs. The sterile beak often as long or longer than the seed bearing portion of the fruit.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Yellow
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary racemes
  • Terminal raceme
Number of Petals
  • 4 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Petal Tip
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.6 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 4 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • 6 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 2 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Capsule, 2-celled
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
  • 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
  • 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
  • 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
  • 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
  • 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
  • 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Pinnately dissected
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
  • Petiole < 25% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Lyrate
  • Pinnately lobed
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Lobed
  • Parted
  • Undulate (sinuate, repand)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
  • Truncate
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Hirsute
  • Hispid or setose
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem leaves greatly reduced
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • North Dakota
  • New Mexico
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Alberta
  • Manitoba
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon
Other
  • Puerto Rico
  • Virgin Islands
  • District of Columbia
  • Labrador
  • Greenland

  • Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 144
  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 94
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 232
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 208
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 535
  • Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 93
  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 197
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 301
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 170
  • Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 69
  • Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 213
  • Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 211
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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