General: Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii), also called African Mustard, is an annual forb with basal leaves, several flowering stalks, and yellow flowers. The basal leaves are dissected with 6-14 pairs of lateral lobes, and the terminal lobe is about the size of lateral lobes. The flowers are yellow with four narrow petals. The plant dies after it flowers, leaving open, upright stalks that are highly flammable. The basal leaves are covered with tiny bumps and prickles.

Sahara Mustard is a common component of disturbed desert vegetation communities. Around Las Vegas, look for this species in town and in disturbed roadsides and open fields.

This is a Category-B Noxious Weed in Nevada. If hikers and other visitors to the native habitats around Las Vegas see this species, please report the observation to the Nevada Department of Agriculture using their online forms. If you have this species on your private property, please consider eradicating it.

Family: Mustard (Brassicaceae).

Other Names: Asian Mustard, African mustard, wild turnip.

Plant Form: Basal leaves with upright flower stalks.

Height: To about 3 feet.

Stems: Several flowering stalks. White hairs on lower stems dense and stiff; stems glabrous above.

Leaves: Generally basal; generally broad and dissected (pinnately lobed) with 6-14 pairs of lateral lobes; terminal lobe about the size of lateral lobes. Upper leaves are small and oblong.

Flowers: Blooms during early spring. Flowers clustered at the top of the flower stalks; petals 4, yellow. Petals long and narrow (about 4-8 mm long, 1-2 mm wide). Sepals about 3 mm long. Mature fruits 3-7 mm long, constricted between seeds; upright but spreading away from the stem.

Seeds: Tiny, many per plant.

Habitat: Roadsides, disturbed sites; spreading into undisturbed desert sites.

Elevation: To about 3,000 feet; usually lower elevations.

Distribution: California to Texas and south into Mexico. Native to the Mediterranean region.

Comments: This species is similar to Black Mustard, but the basal leaves are quite different, and the flowers petals differ too.