What I Identified: Musk Mustard/Crossflower/Blue Mustard

Disclaimer: This post is not for identification purposes. Please use wise judgment and use multiple published sources of identification before consuming any wild food.

A Widespread Spring Signal

My preferred common name for this common plant it Musk Mustard. If you smell you'd know why!

When I first started my journey on plant identification I was so excited for spring to come and was acutely aware of all the spring ‘greenies’ as soon as they were popping up as winter was ending. Musk mustard (Chorispora tanella) was the first flower I noticed at the end of February and early March.

Its presence and pungent (but pleasing) odor seem to be a signal that spring is coming.

If you are in the habit of looking at the plants around you, chances are you have come across Musk Mustard. It’s pale purple flowers often carpet disturbed fields and meadows in very early spring.

Considered a native of Russia or southwestern Asia, It is also considered a noxious weed and extremely widespread.

Musk Mustard is very widespread
Photo: USDA

Part of the Mustard Family

Musk Mustard is part of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae), which it shares with some of our most popular commercial agricultural crops including broccoli, cabbage, kale, and the condiment mustard (made from the seeds of Brassica Nigra). Members of this family are also very common as a weed all over the world.

Musk Mustard has pale purple 4 petaled flowers, leaves that are lance-shaped with wavy or toothed margins. The seed pods form a silique around the stalk.

Key Words [for Mustard family]: 4 petals and 6 stamens—4 tall and 2 short.
Epel, Botany in a Day

Unfortunately, the stamens on Musk Mustard are extremely small and may require a botanical magnifying glass to identify.

An Edible Addition

Musk Mustard is edible including all aerial parts (parts above ground). The young tender leaves have an interesting pungent peppery flavor that would lend well in mixed salads. The seeds could be used to make a wild mustard condiment as well!

Musk Mustard is a reminder that food really is all around us. It can be troublesome to farmers, ranchers, and can crowd out native plants. But it’s also here and I’m going to eat it.