Sinapis arvensis aka Field Mustard

Sinapis arvensis, also known as charlock mustard, field mustard, wild mustard, or simply charlock, is an annual or winter annual plant that belongs to the Sinapis genus in the Brassicaceae family. This plant is commonly found in the fields of North Africa, Asia, and Europe, and can grow up to 1 meter tall under optimal conditions. It has erect, striated stems with coarse spreading hairs near the base, and petiolate leaves that can be oblong, oval, lanceolate, lyrate, pinnatifid, or dentate. The basal leaves are 4-18 cm long, while the cauline leaves are much smaller and short petiolate to sessile. Charlock mustard blooms from May to September in the UK, producing yellow flowers with four petals and spreading sepals in a raceme inflorescence. The fruit is a silique that is 3-5 cm long with a beak 1-2 cm long and flattened-quadrangular. The seeds are dark red or brown, smooth, and 1-1.5 mm in diameter. Charlock mustard is a significant food source for Pieris rapae, the small white butterfly, and Pieris napi, the green veined white butterfly during their larval stages. In the home garden and landscape, common groundsel is often considered a weed and can be controlled using cultural and mechanical methods. If these methods are not effective, herbicides containing diquat or glyphosate can be used to control growing plants in home landscape beds. However, glyphosate will severely injure or kill any plant it touches and should only be used around edible crops. The sprayer tip should be shielded to avoid contact with desirable plants. Preemergent chemical controls are not effective for controlling common groundsel. Charlock mustard can also be grown as a rare houseplant that needs regular watering and abundant sunlight. It is native to Eurasia and Africa and should be placed less than 3 feet from a window for optimal growth.