Birdsrape Mustard

Birdsrape Mustard, Wild Turnip, Field Mustard

(Brassica rapa L.)

Brassicaceae Family (Mustard Family)

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mature plant ▲

stem leaves clasp around stem ▲

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swollen root ▲

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Birdsrape Mustard, Wild Turnip, Field Mustard: (not in Weeds of the Great Plains; not in Weeds of the Northeast)

annual or winter annual, forming a large tuberous root (like a turnip)
leafs gray-green, waxy, and clasp around the stem at their bases (distinguishes this from several other mustards)
grows 2-5 feet tall, with elongated inflorescences with yellow flowers and 1-2" long or longer cylindrical siliques
found in conservation tillage fields, roadsides, often as an escape from cover crop or hay crop plantings