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Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Annual Forbs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Basal leaves with upright flower stalks

General: Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii), also called African Mustard, is an annual forb with basal leaves, several flowering stalks, and yellow flowers. The basal leaves are dissected with 6-14 pairs of lateral lobes, and the terminal lobe is about the size of lateral lobes. The flowers are yellow with four narrow petals. The plant dies after it flowers, leaving open, upright stalks that are highly flammable. The basal leaves are covered with tiny bumps and prickles.

Sahara Mustard is a common component of disturbed desert vegetation communities. Around Las Vegas, look for this species in town and in disturbed roadsides and open fields.

This is a Category-B Noxious Weed in Nevada. If hikers and other visitors to the native habitats around Las Vegas see this species, please report the observation to the Nevada Department of Agriculture using their online forms. If you have this species on your private property, please consider eradicating it.

Family: Mustard (Brassicaceae).

Other Names: Asian Mustard, African mustard, wild turnip.

Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Leaf is deeply lobed

Plant Form: Basal leaves with upright flower stalks.

Height: To about 3 feet.

Stems: Several flowering stalks. White hairs on lower stems dense and stiff; stems glabrous above.

Leaves: Generally basal; generally broad and dissected (pinnately lobed) with 6-14 pairs of lateral lobes; terminal lobe about the size of lateral lobes. Upper leaves are small and oblong.

Flowers: Blooms during early spring. Flowers clustered at the top of the flower stalks; petals 4, yellow. Petals long and narrow (about 4-8 mm long, 1-2 mm wide). Sepals about 3 mm long. Mature fruits 3-7 mm long, constricted between seeds; upright but spreading away from the stem.

Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Sahara mustard (the dried plants) can take over large areas

Seeds: Tiny, many per plant.

Habitat: Roadsides, disturbed sites; spreading into undisturbed desert sites.

Elevation: To about 3,000 feet; usually lower elevations.

Distribution: California to Texas and south into Mexico. Native to the Mediterranean region.

Comments: This species is similar to Black Mustard, but the basal leaves are quite different, and the flower petals differ too.

Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Fields of invading Sahara Mustard
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Fields of invading Sahara Mustard
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Fields of invading Sahara Mustard
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Drying plant
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Thin flowering stalks emerge from `basal leaves
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Mass of basal leaves
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Basal leaves are broad and dissected
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Basal leaves are broad and dissected with 6-14 pairs of lateral lobes
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Single leaf, upper surface
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Single leaf, lower surface
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Leaf and stems have stiff prickles
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Leaf and stems have stiff prickles
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Stiff prickles on leaf edge and on bumps on upper surface
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Stiff prickles on lower leaf surface
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Upper leaves are different from basal leaves
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Upper leaf, lower surface
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Upper leaf, upper surface
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Flowers emerging from upper leaf axil
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii) Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Flowers are yellow with four narrow petals
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Flowers are yellow with four narrow petals
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii) Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Flowers are yellow with four narrow petals
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Seed pods are long and thin
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Seed pod
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Seed pods are long and thin; held upright and out from the stem
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Seed pod
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Seed pod
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Seed pod
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Seeds in a pod
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Seeds in a pod
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Seeds in a pod
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii) Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Sahara mustard (the dried plants) can take over large areas
Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)
Sahara mustard (the dried plants) can take over large areas

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
copyright; Last updated 240616

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