Brassica juncea
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2008-07-14T03:38:34Z
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Date the maintenance tags or general fixes
{{Nofootnotes|date=February 2008}}
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Brassica juncea''
| image = Koeh-168.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Brassicales]]
| familia = [[Brassicaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Brassica]]''
| species = '''''B. juncea'''''
| binomial = ''Brassica juncea''
| binomial_authority = (L.) Czern.
}}
{{This|the vegetable|mustard}}
'''''Brassica juncea''''', also known as '''mustard greens''', '''Indian mustard''' and '''leaf mustard''', is a species of [[mustard plant]]. Sub-varieties include Southern Giant Curled Mustard, which resembles a headless cabbage such as [[Kale]], but with a distinct horseradish-mustard flavor. It is also known as ''green mustard cabbage''.
==Uses==
===Food===
The leaves, the seeds, and the stem of this mustard variety are edible. The plant appears in some form in African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and [[Soul food]] cuisine. Cultivars of ''B. juncea'' are grown as [[greens (vegetable)|greens]], and for the production of [[oilseed]]. The leaves are used in African<ref name="prota">Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.</ref> cooking, and leaves, seeds, and stems are used in [[Indian cuisine]]. In India, ''B. juncea'' subsp. ''tatsai'' which has a particularly thick stem, is used to make the [[Indian pickle]] called '''Achar''' ,[[Pickling#East Asia|Chinese pickle]] ''[[zha cai]]''. The mustard made from the seeds of the Brassica juncea is called brown mustard.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} The leaves (Raai / Rai in Gujarati) are used in many Indian dishes.
'''Brassica juncea''' is more pungent than the closely-related ''[[Brassica oleracea]]'' greens ([[kale]], [[cabbage]], [[collard greens]], et cetera) and is frequently mixed with these milder greens in a dish of "mixed greens", which may include wild greens such as [[dandelion]]. As with other greens in soul food cooking, mustard greens are generally flavored by being cooked for a long period with [[ham hock]]s or other smoked [[pork]] products. Mustard greens are high in [[Vitamin A]] and [[Vitamin K]].
[[Image:Chinesemustardgreens.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Cantonese-style braised mustard greens, with [[Wolfberry|wolfberries]]]]
[[Cuisine of China|Chinese]] and [[Cuisine of Japan|Japanese]] cuisines also make use of mustard greens. A large variety of ''B. juncea'' cultivars are used including ''[[zha cai]]'' (''tatsoi''), ''mizuna'', ''takana'' (var. integlofolia), ''juk gai choy'', and ''hseuh li hung'' (雪里红). Asian mustard greens are most often [[stir-fry|stir-fried]] or [[pickled]]. A Southeast Asian dish called ''asam gai choy'' or ''kiam chai boey'' is often made with leftovers from a large meal. It involves stewing mustard greens with [[tamarind]], dried [[chile pepper|chillies]] and leftover meat on the bone.
===Food supplement===
''B. juncea'' can [[Phytoremediation|hyperaccumulate]] [[cadmium]] and many other soil trace elements. Specially cultured, it can be used as a [[selenium]], [[chromium]], [[iron]] and [[zinc]] [[food supplement]].
===Green manure===
[[Image:Mustardgreensraw.jpg|thumb|right|240px|A bunch of fresh mustard greens from the United States]]
Vegetable growers sometimes grow mustard as a [[green manure]]. Its main purpose is to act as a [[mulch]], covering the soil to suppress weeds between crops. If grown as a green manure, the mustard plants are cut down at the base when sufficiently grown, and left to wither on the surface, continuing to act as a mulch until the next crop is due for sowing, when the mustard is dug in. In the UK, summer and autumn-sown mustard is cut down from October. April sowings can be cut down in June, keeping the ground clear for summer-sown crops.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} One of the disadvantages of mustard as a green manure is its propensity to harbor [[club root]].
===Phytoremediation===
This plant is used to remove heavy metals from the soil in hazardous waste sites because it has a higher tolerance for these substances and stores the heavy metals in its cells. The plant is then harvested and disposed of properly. This method is easier and less expensive than traditional methods for the removal of heavy metals.It also prevents erosion of soil from these sites preventing further contamination.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Everitt |first=J.H. |coauthors=Lonard, R.L., Little, C.R. |title=Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico |publisher=Texas Tech University Press |location=Lubbock |year=2007}} ISBN 0-89672-614-2
==See also==
*[[Brassica rapa]] - related family of edible greens used in Asian cooking.
*[[Brassica nigra]] - ''black mustard'', another mustard variety.
*[[Brassica alba]] - ''yellow'' or ''white'' mustard, another mustard variety.
*[[Brassica carinata]] - Ethiopian mustard
*[[Brassica oleracea]] - Wild mustard
For other edible plants in the family Brassicaceae, see [[cruciferous vegetables]].
==External links==
* [http://database.prota.org/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?AC=QBE_QUERY&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fdatabase.prota.org%2Fsearch.htm&TN=PROTAB~1&QB0=AND&QF0=Species+Code&QI0=Brassica+juncea&RF=Webdisplay PROTAbase on ''Brassica juncea'']
* [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Brassica_juncea.html Brassica juncea]
* [http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/vegetables/mustard.htm Culinary description of the many tasty varieties of mustard greens]
{{unimelb|Brassica_juncea.html}}
* [http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/30225/ Photos and information on Southern Giant Curled Mustard]
* [http://grant-adams.wsu.edu/agriculture/covercrops/pubs/eb1952e.pdf Mustard Green Manures: Washington State University Extension paper on cover crops.]
{{Herbs & spices}}
[[Category:Brassica]]
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
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