Weeds

Erucastrum armoracioides (Czern. ex Turcz.) Cruchet. - Elongated Mustard.

Systematic position.

Family Brassicaceae Burnett., genus Erucastrum C. Presl.

Synonyms.

Erucastrum elongatum Ldb., Brassica elongata Ehrh., Brassica armoracioides Czern. ex Turcz.

Biological group.

Biennial or perennial plant.

Morphology and biology.

Plant 30-100 cm high. Stem erect, ramified usually from the middle. Leaves slightly fleshy, grayish-green; lower leaves short-petiolate, oblong-obovate, emarginate-pinnatifid, with quite broad middle nerve, stem leaves spread-dentate; upper leaves linear and nearly entire. Flowers in corymboid inflorescence elongating to fruit ripening. Petals yellow. Siliquas 1.5-3 cm in length, located on heavily declined peduncles, tuberculous, with small nose of 1-3 mm length. Seeds spherical, 1-1.5 mm in diameter, cellular, dark-brown. Flowering period in May-June. Fruiting period in June-July.

Distribution.

Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, Iran, Mediterranean area. Southern half of the European part of the former USSR, Crimea, the Caucasus, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia.

Ecology.

Drought-resistant plant preferring rubbly and loamy plots.

Economic significance.

Weed of grain crops; occurring in fallow lands, kitchen gardens, waste lands, along roads, near habitations. Control measures include stubbling, under-winter plowing, presowing soil cultivation, chemical weeding.

Reference citations:

Bush N.A., ed. 1939. Flora of the USSR. V. 8. Moscow & Leningrad: AN SSSR, 696 p. (in Russian).
Gubanov I.A., Kiseleva K.V., Novikov V.S., Tikhomirov V.N. 2003. Illustrated keys to plants of Middle Russia. V.2. Moscow: Association of scientific editions KMK, 702 p. (in Russian).
Keller B.A., Lyubimenko V.N., Maltsev A.I., Fedchenko B.A., Shishkin B. K., Rodzevich R.Yu. & Kamenskii K.V., eds. 1934. Weed plants of the USSR. Moscow & Leningrad: AS USSR. V. 3. 448 p. (in Russian).
Nikitin V.V. 1983. Weed plants of the USSR flora. Leningrad: Nauka, 454 p. (in Russian).

© Sokolova T.D.

Picture © Sokolova T.D.
 

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