Tumble mustard

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Tumble mustard upper leaf

Tumble mustard

Tumble mustard flowers

Tumble mustard inflorescences

Tumble mustard habit

Tumble mustard leaves

Tumble mustard

Tumble mustard lower leaf

Tumble mustard flowers and pods

Morphology

Stem

Erect, simple below, much branched above, glabrous to sparsely hairy at base.

Leaves

Alternate, stalked; lower leaves oblanceolate to spatulate, 1.6 to 9 inches long, .4 to 1.6 inches wide, pubescent, pale green, pinnately cleft nearly to midrib; segments in 5-8 pairs, linear and entire to lanceolate and toothed; upper leaves smaller, divided into thread-like segments.

Inflorescence

Racemes, numerous, terminating branches, elongating in fruit.

Flower

2/5 to 3/5 inch across; sepals 4, awl-shaped, in 2 opposite pairs, margins membranous; petals 4, 1/4 to 2/5 inch long, ovate to spatulate, pale yellow, longer than sepals; stamens usually 6; stalks spreading ascending.

Fruit

Pod, ascending or spreading, linear, 2 to 6 inches long, less than 1/16 inch wide, straight, glabrous; stalk about as thick as pod, 1/5 to 2/5 inch long; seeds several in 1 row, oblong, about 1/25 inch long, plump, smooth, yellow to brown.

Ecology

Habitat

Pastures, grain fields, roadsides, waste places; open, sandy or rocky ground.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Toxicity

May accumulate nitrates and cause digestive tract irritation. However, livestock will seldom eat large enough quantities to cause poisoning.

Uses

The Navajo would make a mush from tumble mustard seeds and goat's milk. The seeds are eaten by small mammals and ground foraging birds.

Additional Notes