Flowering plant. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Flowers and young fruiting bodies. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Dried specimen, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, plant from Saudi Arabia

Common Name

Smooth Mustard

Family

Brassicaceae

Notes

Introduced annual forb to 1.3m tall.  Leaves basal and alternating up the stems, to 15cm long, flat, hairy or hairless, lobed and toothed, upper leaves with toothed, occasionally entire, edges.  Flowers sometimes small (less than 3mm across), yellow, with 4 petals, in groups at the tops of the stems, which elongate as the fruiting bodies mature.

Differs from Sisymbrium irio in that the flowers have petals 2.5mm long or less, and the fruiting bodies are straight, on thick stems 2-3mm long. 

Description and photo in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 333.  Differences between species of Sisymbrium are detailed under Sisymbrium altissimum page 333.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Sisymbrium~erysimoides