Erucastrum arabicum Fisch. & C.A.Mey.

Species

Angiosperms > Brassicales > Brassicaceae > Erucastrum

Characteristics

Annual herb, up to 100 cm. high with 1-few shoots from the base, unbranched or with rather few long branches in the upper part, sparsely hispid on stem and leaves.. Lower leaves petiolate, up to 18 cm. long and 5 cm. broad, spathulate to lyrate-pinnatifid, with up to 4 pairs of triangular to oblong lateral lobes, margins irregularly dentate, sinuate or repand; upper leaves similar but ± sessile, shorter, narrower and usually less divided.. Racemes ebracteate or with bracts at the lowermost pedicels, dense, with numerous small flowers; in fruit lax, up to 40 cm. long with 5–20 mm. long ascending slender pedicels.. Sepals oblong, 2.5–3.5 mm. long, sparsely hispidulous.. Petals yellow, spathulate to almost clawed, with oblong blade, 3.5–6 mm. long, ± 2 mm. broad.. Longer stamens 4–5.5 mm. long, anthers ± 1 mm. long.. Nectaries as lobes at both sides of each lateral stamen and as one lobe outside each pair of median stamens.. Ovary glabrous or with short hairs; stigma semiglobose.. Siliquae straight, often torulose, 15–50 mm. long, ± 1.5 mm. broad; beak 1.5–4.5 mm. long; valves glabrous or sparsely hispidulous.. Seeds light to dark brown, oblong to elliptic in outline, 0.8–1.2 mm. long, smooth to very finely reticulate.. Fig. 2.
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An annual creeping herb. It lies along the ground. It grows each year from seeds. It grows 1 m high. The leaves are in a ring and are grey-green. They are slightly hairy. The leaves are divided and 18 cm long by 5 cm wide. The large lobe at the end is rounded. The flowers are yellow. They are on long slender shoots. The fruit is a long slender capsule. It can be 5 cm long. The seeds are brown.
Life form annual
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 1.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a tropical plant. In Ethiopia it grows in the highlands. In Kenya it grows from sea level to 2,500 m altitude. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 1,100-1,900 mm. It can grow in arid places.
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Disturbed places in upland forest, a weed in cultivated land; at elevations from sea level to 3,170 metres, though mainly at 1,500-2,000 metres.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

The young leaves and stalks are eaten after cooking. The roots are removed and the leaves and stalks boiled for an hour. It can cause the skin to become dry and also produce sleepiness. The leaves are used in soups.
Uses animal food food food additive gene source medicinal oil
Edible leaves seeds stems
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:283465-1
WFO ID wfo-0000677469
COL ID 6GQN5
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Brassica arabica Brassica schimperi Erucastrum arabicum Hesperis abyssinica Sisymbrium hararense Sisymbrium abyssinicum Kibera arabica Diplotaxis inopinata Erucastrum arabicum var. arabicum