Scientific Name
Other Names
Life Form
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Family
Food - Widely used as spice, leaves used as vegetable, seed oil used in pickles and cooking. Eco-restoration - Plant can be used to remove heavy metals from contaminated soil.
Caucasus
It grows in fields, waste places, roadsides.
A green manure crop, having the ability to suppress soil-borne diseases. A key ingredient in traditional diets.
Annual herb reaching heights of 20-50 cm with erect, branching stems.
Stem erect, branching stems typically smooth, though some varieties may have fine hairs.
It consists of large, irregular teeth (dentate), and lobed leaves (lyrate-pinnatifid) with 2 or 3 pairs of leaflets emerging from a central stalk at the base. Leaves transition to a simpler oblong-oval shape, still boasting some toothed margins, and at the top, the leaves transform into narrow, elongated blades with pointed tips (oblong-linear).
Flowers bloom in loose clusters (racemes) with 20-40 tiny, golden yellow flowers (c. 7 mm). The flowers are held aloft by slender stalks (pedicels) that lengthen as the fruits develop.
After flowering, slender pods (3-5 cm long) develop, containing rows of tiny, dark brown seeds. These elongated pods stand upright or spread outward.
Flowering: March – June
Fruiting: April – July