Description

Mustard commonly brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard, is a species of mustard plant.

Characteristics:

Leaf mustard is a cool-season annual, usually grown for its variable, glabrous, rather thin basal leaves which are eaten raw or cooked like spinach. As day length increases, mustard bolts up with a 3 ft (0.9 m) stalk supporting bright yellow flowers that soon develop into sickle-shaped green seed pods. Mustard is used by people in three ways: * it is eaten as a green vegetable; * the seeds are a source of a mild tasting nonvolatile oil; and * its major use has been as a spice. Mustard seeds have been used as a spice at least since written history began in Babylonia and India and their use is frequently referred to in Greek and Roman writings and in the Bible. Traditional mustard is made by mixing a small amount of White Mustard Sinapis alba, with a lot of Black Mustard seeds as well as adding other spices.

Medicinal Uses:

It is a folk remedy for arthritis, foot ache, lumbago and rheumatism. In China the seed is used as medicine against tumours. Ingestion may impart a body odour repellent to mosquitoes. Leaves applied to the forehead are said to relieve headache. Mustard is reported to be anodyne, aperitif, diuretic, emetic, rubefacient, and stimulant, the plant is a folk remedy for arthritis, foot ache, lumbago, and rheumatism. The seed is used in the treatment of tumours in China. In Korea, the seeds are used in the treatment of abscesses, colds, lumbago, rheumatism, and stomach disorders. The root is used as a galactagogue in Africa. Ingestion may impart a body odour repellent to mosquitoes. Mustard oil is used in the treatment of skin eruptions and ulcers.