Sisymbrium officinale

Common Name: 
hedge mustard
Scientific Name: 
Sisymbrium officinale L.
Family Name: 
Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) - Mustard Family
Identification Notes
Life Cycle
introduced annual or winter annual, reproducing by seed
Stems
upright, tall, stiff, light green sometimes purplish, scattered white hairs below, often glaucous (light whitish powdery coating that wipes off)
Stems of Hedge Mustard
Stems of Hedge Mustard
Stems of Hedge Mustard
Stems of Hedge Mustard
Leaves
alternate, basal and lower are divided and pinnately lobed often to midvein, lobes narrow, upper divided into three lobes, margin irregularly toothed and clefted, lower petioled and upper sessile
Leaves of Hedge Mustard
Leaves of Hedge Mustard
Leaves of Hedge Mustard
Leaves of Hedge Mustard
Flowers
4-petaled, pale yellow; terminal and axillary racemes, racemes stiff, flowers in tight cluster at tip, racemes elongating after flower during pod formation
Seed Pods
silique, thin, held somewhat tight to stem, green becoming brown when mature
Seedpods of Hedge Mustard
Seedpods of Hedge Mustard