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

Herb

Brassica species are annual, biennial, perennial rarely undershrubs, glaucous or sparsely hirsute. Rootstock slender or tuberous. Stem erect or ascending, simple or branched. Basal radical leaves in rosulate or not, oblong to oblanceolate, pinnatifid or pinnatisect, base amplexicaul, margin dentate or entire, glabrous or pubescent, apex obtuse, petiolate or sessile, cauline leaves sagittate or auriculate, base attenuate or cuneate, margin dentate or rarely entire, apex acute, petiole subsessile or sessile. Inflorescence raceme corymbs, axillary or terminal, many flowered, elongated in fruit, ebracteate. Flowers bisexual, yellow rarely white or pink, actinomorphic, pedicel slender, sepals 4, erect, oblong or ovate, glabrous or pubescent, basal pair saccate or not, petals 4, spathulate-obovate, margin entire, apex obtuse, almost twice long as than sepals, clawed, almost equal or slightly longer than sepals. Stamens 6, tetradynamous, filaments not dilated at the base, anthers oblong-ovate, nectar glands 4, lateral and median, ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous, linear, ovules 4-48, style distinct, stigma capitate or bilobed. Fruit siliqua, dehiscent, linear oblong, erect or slightly curved, compressed, valves papery, prominent midveined, torulose or smooth, glabrous or rarely pubescent, style short or obsolete. Seeds few to many, uniseriate, rarely biseriate, not winged, globose-ovoid, minutely reticulate, mucilaginous or not when soaked, cotyledons conduplicate.

Flowering class: Dicot Habit: Herb Distribution notes: Exotic

Flowering and fruiting: March-May

Brassica species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects, or cleistogamy i.e., by self or allogamy i.e., by cross pollination. Flowering/Fruiting: March-May.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, anemochory i.e., wind dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Erect annual herbs, about 50-200 cm tall. Rootstock tuberous. Stem rigid, sparsely hirsute at the base, sparsely branched and glabrous above. Basal broadly obovate to oblanceolate in outline, lyrately-pinnatifid or not, about 6-28 x 2-9 cm across, lateral leaflets 2-8, near the petiole smallest and terminal leaflet ovate, the largest, base cuneate, margin shallow dentate to undulate, apex obtuse, glabrous or pubescent, petiolate about 2-10 cm long, middle leaves oblong-ovate, smaller and shortly petiolate, upper cauline leaves linear-lanceolate or narrow oblong-oblanceolate, about 4-6 x 0.7-1 cm across, base cuneate, margin entire or rarely shallow dentate, petiole sessile. Inflorescence racemes, axillary or terminal, densely 40-60 flowered, erect and ascending, ebracteate. Flowers bisexual, bright yellow, actinomorphic, about 1.2 cm across, pedicel erect, divaricate, slender, about 3-5 mm long, sepals 4, oblong, spreading or ascending, about 4-5 x 1-1.5 mm across, petals 4, oblanceolate-obovate, base attenuate or caudate, margin entire, apex obtuse, about 6-9 x 5-7 mm across, claw about 3-6 mm across. Stamens 6, tetradynamous, filaments about 4 mm long, anthers oblong-ovate, about 2 mm long, nectar glands 4, lateral and median, ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous, linear, ovules 4-20, style distinct, stigma capitate or bilobed. Fruit siliqua, dehiscent, linear oblong, erect or slightly curved, compressed, valves papery, prominent midveined, about 1-3 x 0.1-0.25 cm long, torulose or smooth, glabrous or rarely pubescent, style, terminal segment like style. Seeds 4-20, uniseriate, not winged, dark brown to blackish brown, globose-ovoid, about 1-1.3 mm across, minutely reticulate, mucilaginous when soaked, cotyledons conduplicate.

Brassica species are susceptible to insect pests, virus, mildews and rusts.

Notes: Cultivated

Cultivated

Introduced and widely cultivated.

Cultivated

Not evaluated (IUCN).

In cooking seeds used as flavoring agent, leaves used as vegetable. Also used in Ayurvedic, Folk, Siddha, Unani and modern medicines.

Medicinal