Mustard plant

The mustard plant is a name given to several species within the genera Brassica, Rhamphospermum, and Sinapis, all part of the Brassicaceae family. Its seeds are ground into a spice, and when mixed with water, vinegar, or other liquids, they produce the yellow condiment called prepared mustard. Pressing the seeds yields mustard oil, while the plant’s leaves are edible and eaten as mustard greens. Many common vegetables are actually cultivated varieties of mustard plants, and domestication may have started around 6,000 years ago.

History

Though some mustard varieties were well-known crops during Hellenistic and Roman times, archaeological evidence for these crops has been found. Wild mustard, along with its relatives radish and turnip, grows across West Asia and Europe, suggesting domestication happened somewhere in that region. The Encyclopædia Britannica notes that mustard was grown by the Indus Civilization between 2500 and 1700 BC, and the Saskatchewan Mustard Development Commission reports that some of the earliest known references to mustard use appear in Sumerian and Sanskrit texts from 3000 BC.

A 2021 genetic study of B. rapa suggested the species may have been domesticated as long as 6,000 years ago in Central Asia, possibly first for turnips or oilseeds, and indicated that a taxonomic re-evaluation of the species might be needed. In ancient Egypt, mustard was used as salad greens and a spice, and Brassicaceae oils—possibly mustard oil—have been found on gazelle mummies, hinting at its use in embalming. Later Coptic writings mention mustard as a medicinal plant, referring to it by both its Greek name and the Coptic name ϣⲁⲗⲧⲁⲙ (shaltam).

Species

White mustard (Sinapis alba) grows wild in North Africa, West Asia, and Mediterranean Europe, and has spread through long cultivation. Brown mustard (Brassica juncea), originally from the Himalayan foothills, is grown commercially in India, Canada, the UK, Denmark, Bangladesh, and the US.

Black mustard (Brassica nigra) is cultivated in Argentina, Chile, the US, and parts of Europe. Canada and Nepal are the world’s top producers of mustard seed, together accounting for about 57% of global production in 2010. White mustard is often used as a cover crop in Europe, from the UK to Ukraine.