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What is mustard?
Mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. et Coss。 ) belongs to Brassicaceae, Brassicaceae, its height can reach 150 cm, and its tender stems and leaves are prickly and spicy. Stem erect, leaf blade stalk with lobules; The lower leaves of the stem are small, with serrated or serrated edges, and the upper leaves of the stem are narrow and lanceolate, with inconspicuous sparse teeth or entire edges. Racemes are terminal and extend after flowering; Flowers yellow, sepals pale yellow, oblong or oval, erect; Petals obovate, silique linear, seeds spherical, purplish brown. It blooms in March-May and bears fruit in May-June.

It is cultivated all over China. Salt leaves are edible; Seeds and whole grass can be used as medicine to eliminate phlegm, relieve asthma, reduce swelling and relieve pain; Seed grinding is called mustard, which is a seasoning; The squeezed oil is called mustard oil; This species is an excellent nectar source plant.

It is rarely cultivated in Europe and America and originated in Asia. Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica recorded the medicinal value of medical mustard.

morphological character

Annual herb, 30- 150 cm high, often hairless, sometimes young stems and leaves have prickly hairs, frost and spicy taste; The stems are erect and branched.

Basal leaves are broadly ovoid to obovate, and are 15-35 cm long. The tip is blunt, the base is wedge-shaped, the big head is pinnate, with 2-3 pairs of lobes, or undivided, and the edge is notched or toothed. Petiole 3-9 cm long, lobulated. The leaves at the lower part of the stem are small, with concave edges or teeth, and sometimes with blunt serrations, which do not support the stem; The upper leaves of the stem are narrowly lanceolate, 2.5-5 cm long and 4-9 mm wide, with inconspicuous sparse teeth or entire margin.

Racemes are terminal and extend after flowering; Yellow flower, 7- 10 mm in diameter; Pedicel 4-9 mm long; Sepals pale yellow, oblong-elliptic, 4-5 mm long, erect; Petals obovate, 8 8- 10/0mm long and 4-5mm long. Silique linear, 3-5.5cm long and 2-3.5mm wide, with prominent midvein1; The beak length is 6- 12 mm; Pedicel is 5-15mm long. The seeds are spherical, about 65438±0mm in diameter and purple-brown. The flowering period is from March to May, and the fruiting period is from May to June.