This purple flower had me scratching my head, poring through guides and keys, and trying to figure out what the heck it was. I determined it's in the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae), with its radially symmetrical flowers with parts in fours--four sepals and four petals, and flowers on a raceme. But then I was stuck for awhile.Fortunately, I eventually found the answer, it's Blue mustard, also called musk mustard or purple mustard (Chorispora tenella). One of the reasons I had such a hard time identifying it is that many pictures show it being very tall, and the specimens I saw were no more than about six inches tall.
I first saw it mixed in with some grass outside the playground, so I guessed it was probably nonnative, given that most of the flowers in town seem to be nonnative. Sure enough, blue mustard is a native to Russia or southwestern Asia.
Although it's a pretty flower, it's reported to give off an unpleasant odor. I didn't notice it, so perhaps the odor gets stronger as the plant gets older.
Later I saw another patch of the flowers, with much larger leaves.
I first saw it mixed in with some grass outside the playground, so I guessed it was probably nonnative, given that most of the flowers in town seem to be nonnative. Sure enough, blue mustard is a native to Russia or southwestern Asia.
Although it's a pretty flower, it's reported to give off an unpleasant odor. I didn't notice it, so perhaps the odor gets stronger as the plant gets older.
Later I saw another patch of the flowers, with much larger leaves. One of the resources I'm using to help identify the flora of this area is this key, which is gradually being populated with photos to help make it more useful.
To learn more about blue mustard, click here.
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