is this a weed or flower?

by Diane Kaul

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+122

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This plant popped up in my flower bed this year. It grew quickly and is almost 2 feet tall already. Does anyone know what it is?

122 answers

Peggy Rickard on May 21, 2014
Might be cowslip. Or maybe fringed leaf bleeding heart (oxalis)

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Marsha J on May 21, 2014
mustard wild mustard. for sure

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Rhonda B on May 21, 2014
I agree-wild mustard

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Cynthia Squibb on May 21, 2014
it looks like a yellow bell but sure though if I had a better pic I could tell you if it is or not

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Lynne Gaylor on May 21, 2014
I'm not sure, but I've seen it before. Pretty sure it's wild.

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Amanda DeLoach on May 21, 2014
weed but pretty I agree wild mustard

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Janel ray on May 22, 2014
It is wild mustard. It will take over your whole flower bed by next year. VERY ivasive

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Tracy Gilmore on May 22, 2014
its very pretty whatever it is, i say a weed is only flower/plant you dont want, some of our much loved flowers have been bred from weeds, they also have a place in feeding the wildlife

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Tina Krenz on May 22, 2014
I looked it up and it is wild mustard. Don't toss it, you can use it. Just look up what uses for wild mustard.

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Rebecca Shriver on May 23, 2014
looks like mustard

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Jacqueline W on May 23, 2014
Yep wild mustard.

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Sully Droulias on May 23, 2014
you are bless is Mustard, bees love them , butterfly's do to

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Noreen Nusbaum on May 23, 2014
wild mustard

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Denise King-McNett on May 23, 2014
Wild mustard and it takes over everything

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Heidi Leeck on May 23, 2014
here in Wisconsin, it's considered an invasive plant.

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Deb Higgins on May 23, 2014
It is a mustard plant. I have a couple. Here's a picture of what it looks like.

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Debbie O'Donnell on May 23, 2014
mustard seed

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Lynn Warren Chapman on May 23, 2014
I was once told that a weed is any plant that grows where you dont want it... If you think its pretty than it ISNT a weed! lol

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Doris C on May 23, 2014
They Are Very Invasive.

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Kathy Schrader on May 23, 2014
It's wild mustard and it is edible. My grandmother couldn't wait till spring to gather some wild greens.

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Karen Dries on May 23, 2014
Wild Mustard. If you like it it's a flower, if you don't it's a weed.

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Beatrice Brown on May 23, 2014
Run it is a monster plant. Just a little humor. Wild mustard.

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Theresa Miller on May 23, 2014
Wild mustard.

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Susan B on May 23, 2014
Very invasive mustard weed

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Rae on May 23, 2014
Its a weed, Ive been pulling them out for what seems like an eternity

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Cc on May 23, 2014
Oh I may have this too! A neighbor asked my husband what it was when he was working in the yard recently, but he didn't know. It was very pretty when blooming, but I told him I thought it was actually a weed, however I wasn't sure. I need to go check the leaves against this picture! Thanks :)

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Pamela Edwards on May 23, 2014
😁spray with vinegar to kill it. It spreads!

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Toni Le Gresley on May 23, 2014
It's a mustard flower, it's used in the fields near mine when the potato season is finished.

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Sharon Prellwitz on May 23, 2014
When I was a little girl, I would go with my dad to pull everyone of these plants out of the oats fields. Every evening, we would check the oats fields for wild mustard. I'm in WI too, it's an invasive species that is supposed to be destroyed when found.

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Karen Phillips on May 23, 2014
Yep wild mustard.. pull it up roots and all and throw it away it will take over

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Jeanne on May 23, 2014
I have a bumper crop of this wild mustard. Fortunately they pull out easily.

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Sandy Johnson on May 23, 2014
Can you make mustard with this?

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Phy106002 on May 23, 2014
I love mustard greens. I also have lots of this I was thinking about eating it

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Darlene Patrick on May 23, 2014
yes you collect the seed and grind it up viola! mustard! well mix with vinegar and mustard

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Jean Marie on May 23, 2014
A WEED is only in the hands of the beholder!

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Cindy Smith on May 23, 2014
Almost looks like lantana

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Ire115471 on May 23, 2014
Alyssum?

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Anita Thompson Draggoo on May 23, 2014
Its a pretty weed :-)

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Dix183812 on May 23, 2014
yep...wild mustard some vinyards in Ca. plant mustard in the off season.

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Kristy Phipps on May 23, 2014
I believe you can eat it, but yes it is a weed!

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Susette Rodrigues on May 23, 2014
I believe its's wild mustard. Just a weed

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Linda Stankey on May 23, 2014
It would be a weed in my garden. Looks like mustard weed

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Rachelle D on May 23, 2014
Most state extension offices consider this to be a very invasive weed and it is very difficult to eradicate once it gets a good hold. I would dig it out and make sure you get as much of the root as you can or you will end up with it throughout your garden and yard.

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LAVENA SWANSON on May 23, 2014
It is a mustard weed, but every flower is a weed somewhere. They are pretty when nothing else will grow.

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Wendy G on May 23, 2014
It's pretty if it is a weed

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Gretchen W on May 23, 2014
Forsynthia ask on Garden Web

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Claudia Ridge on May 23, 2014
Weed

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PammyK on May 23, 2014
It is a weed. I had one and yelled at my husband for pulling it out. Took it to the local nursery and it was indeed....a weed

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Gabriele Gersch on May 23, 2014
It is mustard weed...very pretty but invasive. I let mine grow a while then pull up.

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Cynthia Penzien on May 23, 2014
I agree it is wild mustard , pull it now or you will have a lot more next year!

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Erica W on May 23, 2014
rhapeseed

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Lorraine Q on May 23, 2014
Viberium

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K on May 23, 2014
This is wild mustard. It can be seen growing in fields. It is a weed, enjoy then remove.

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- Stacey1957 on May 23, 2014
  @K It's absolutely beautiful growing in between the rows of artichokes in Castroville Ca. The artichoke capital of the world and the 1st artichoke queen was Marilyn Monroe. A great cover crop with many nutrients for the soil and chokes.
  
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Melissa W on May 23, 2014
Just saying...

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Joedean Small on May 23, 2014
it's whatever you want it to be,beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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Kathy D on May 23, 2014
Don't matter what it is it's beautiful

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Mary N on May 23, 2014
I have this growing around my mailbox, very pretty.

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D C on May 23, 2014
It a weed and very invasive. If you let it get started, you'll have it everywhere.

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Shirley WIlliams on May 23, 2014
it is just mustard- can be left to cover your entire yard or just pulled up before the flowers drop and spill a zillion seeds - :)

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Stacey1957 on May 23, 2014
If you like it, it's a plant, if you don't like it, it's a weed even if it's a rose.

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Christie Roberts on May 23, 2014
It's a weed if you don't want it there!!

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Accentuations! on May 23, 2014
Its and aggressive weed! erradicate now!

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- Laurie J on May 23, 2014
  @Accentuations! HAHAHA When my dad had west nile virus he kept telling us we should erradicate poison ivy from the world instead of visiting him!! He would say have you done it??? Erradicate NOWWWWWWWWW!!!! He had encephalitis it really isnt funny but you made us all laugh so hard!!!!!
  
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Penny on May 23, 2014
Wild mustard plant attacts honey bees get to have for pollinating

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Sheila Utton-Robbins on May 23, 2014
The difference between a weed and a flower is a persons perspective.

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Janice Schaub on May 23, 2014
I have some in my garden. Its pretty so I leave it. Has been there two years now and so far has not spread. I will remove the ones I don't want. I love the yellow in the Spring before the other flowers come out. I like Dandelions too so dont go by me.

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Charli R on May 23, 2014
If it has blooms and you like it, it's a flower. If you don't like it, it's a weed!! Sorry, I have no idea what it may be.

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Nancy Tietje on May 23, 2014
It's a very invasive weed that might have some bad effects on animals. Check with forest service. If it is what I think it is, can kill animals.

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Christine Sullivan on May 23, 2014
it is wild mustard and we literally have acres of it around us

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Bev Stasicky on May 23, 2014
I had this pop up in my flower garden too, its beautiful and it has not been invasive, this is the third year it has come up.

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Nell on May 23, 2014
The first clue that it may be a weed is that it grows really fast!

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Teri on May 23, 2014
Looks like wild mustard. It's edible and pretty, but the seeds can cause gastro-intestinal problems for animals Here's a link to the wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinapis_arvensis

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Diane F on May 23, 2014
If you didn't put it in your flower bed, then it is a weed

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Jeanee Rockweiler on May 23, 2014
you can cook the leaves up like greens.........i mix it with milk weeds, nettles and pig weeds, and a little salt pork .....

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Barbara R on May 24, 2014
Wild mustard has long stems, with rounded or jagged leaves at the end, often with many shorter leaves along the lengths of the stem. The leaves can be as small as a quarter or bigger than the palm of your hand.

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Barbara R on May 24, 2014
It did say you can cook the leaves, personally, I won't...but there are recipes on google!

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Barbara Niedergerke on May 24, 2014
Clip the flowers off before they go to seed.

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Nancy Robinson on May 24, 2014
wild mustard. Some don't like it, I find it pretty and agree that flower or weed is in the eye of the beholder.

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Lynn Lawson on May 24, 2014
Any flowering plant is pretty to me. I've got hundreds of different ones in my yard, from Cherokee Roses to honeysuckles to wild mustard. My dogs don't eat my plants (or weeds) so they don't get sick.

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Deb P on May 24, 2014
Looks like Golden rod

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Becky Russ Scott on May 24, 2014
It's wild mustard. It's totally edible. But it will take over your whole yard. Put a bag over top the flowers so the seeds don't spread. Then pull it up.

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Nancy Gayle on May 24, 2014
it looks like lantana

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Liza Nash on May 24, 2014
we live in the uk and we're surrounded by fields of stuff that looks like this, rape seed, used to extract rapeseed oil.

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Denise M on May 24, 2014
I think it's beautiful. Love some yellow in my beds. Consider yourself blessed.

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Linda Young on May 24, 2014
Mustard, it grows wild in fields here in south Jersey.

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LaVerne Paige on May 24, 2014
Mustards

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Maxine Goodin on May 24, 2014
The mustard will spread. Destroy blossoms ASAP. When I was young, I spent my summer days pulling this weed from the potato fields in The County In Maine.

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Pamela Jordan on May 24, 2014
It is wild mustard, you can eat it. You pull the blossoms off and cook it like you would greens. My grandmother used bacon end pieces, chopped the greens up and cooked them for about an hour or so. Add salt and pepper to taste. However as with any week you will want to pull it up so that it doesn't spread and for sure destroy the blossoms so that they don't pollenate and spread everywhere.

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Anne Komar Rohrer on May 24, 2014
Here wild mustard is considered invasive. It chokes out the native plants.

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Robin Gilbert on May 24, 2014
It has a beautiful color but unfortunately is a very invasive weed!

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Michelle Long on May 24, 2014
Pretty or not....it will take over!!!

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Sandij on May 24, 2014
wild mustard, here in Mississippi you see it everywhere in the fields. Acres of it.

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Nana Marsha on May 24, 2014
Looks like a weed they were talking about this morning on my local ABC news (Tampa) story about starting a Butterfly garden.

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Frances Davis on May 24, 2014
Weed or not it sure is pretty. My weeds look like, well....weeds.

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Elizabeth Sagarminaga on May 24, 2014
This is wild mustard, it is a weed because it appears by itself in your garden and then slowly, but steadily covers up the entire area killing all the other plants in the garden. Though it looks quite beautiful it does not allow other flowering plants to survive so you need to stop the seeds from spreading.

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Erin Vogt on May 24, 2014
Wild mustard! We have huge, beautiful fields of it here in VA but I wouldn't want it in my garden...

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Diane Bentley on May 24, 2014
Looks like it is time for a little poke salad...wild mustard

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Theresa Schmehl on May 24, 2014
Dig it up by the roots and get rid of it! This showed up in my yard and a year later had covered over two acres of land! I have used so many different things to try and kill it, but it still comes back. It has been burned, frozen, Round Up, everything, and now I have to kill off the entire two acres, till and reseed. It is very aggressive and spreads like wildfire.

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Sarah Johnson on May 24, 2014
Weed or not it looks great, just plant some flowers around it that graduate down in size and you will have a bouquet look in your flower bed

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- Kathy Bever on May 24, 2014
  @Sarah Johnson NO! It will spread like wildfire and kill all other plants.
  
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Kathy Roberts on May 24, 2014
It's a weed and your neighbor won't appreciate it.

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Deb Simmering on May 24, 2014
Wild mustard. It will spread and take over your garden if you don't get it out of there.

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JuJu Dolly on May 24, 2014
Looks like it reseeds and it will propagate faster than you can say "help" !!

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Sara W on May 24, 2014
It could be winter cress. It's one of the first yellow flowers. If it is, it's a wild cousin of broccoli.

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Gloria Ketter on May 24, 2014
Goldenrod?

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Barbara P on May 24, 2014
They had a field of yellow like this in NewBrunswick. thought they were harvesting weeds but it was Mazola oil, goes to say I haven t been in the area for a while...

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Morrisa Fancher on May 24, 2014
Wild mustard? Looks a little like Verbena.

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Juli Howland on May 24, 2014
I have the same at my home. Very invasive although very pretty. I'm positive it's not goldenrod but do not know what it is.

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Duane Gordon Jr on May 25, 2014
friend this is wild mustard. It's very invasive, if you really like it then by all means keep it.. but dig it up along with a good root ball and plant in a large pot.. you will still have the beauty of it, yet not have to worry about it spreading and taking over. Enjoy!

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Myrna Engle on May 27, 2014
Bastard Cabbage 'Is the plant name'- invasive- will soon over run our Bluebonnets.

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Myrna Engle on May 27, 2014
ARE YOU CRAZY? BASTARD CABBAGE IS THE PLANTS BOTANICAL NAME . LOOK IT UP.

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Myrna Engle on May 27, 2014
I've done my best. Can your site be to simple to embrace the botanical name?

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Felicity Woodruffe on May 27, 2014
rapeseed manufactured to produce canola oil , there is no such plant as canola look up rapeseed plant we have fields of it in england some people use it as bio fuel

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Felicity Woodruffe on May 27, 2014
once it seeds you will get many many plants looks like brocolli or cabbage when they go to seed

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Momgillow on May 27, 2014
Italian lady told me this was wild mustard....pick the tops off before they open and steam them. Put a little salt and pepper and butter. I tried it, it was good and didn't kill me, so must be it's edible. R.Gillow--Del.Co., NY

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Felicity Woodruffe on May 28, 2014
Yes some people call rapeseed wild mustard and I too have eaten it many times especially fresh just pick and eat the young stems

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Myrna Engle on May 28, 2014
Again I will try to type in the name of this plant. Wise me luck. Here we go. Add the letters together and maybe I can fool the site. B-A-S-T-A-R-D cabbage. Look it up. Its a terrible problem, and getting worse each season.

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Roxy D on Jun 08, 2014
a pretty weed. hehe. If you see it growing along side the road, its wildflowers. If it's in your garden, its a weed. If your kids pick them and give them to you, it's a BOUQUET

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Sarah Johnson on Jun 09, 2014
That's a good way to look at things, got some vines growing in an area where we planted watermelon seeds grankids and I, but they washed out of the seeding planter rained Hardee than I expected, cuz prefer rain over tap but now think what's growing could be watermelon vine, but could be a weed too, u never know , we will see soon

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Wendy Weedles on Jun 09, 2014
Rapistrum rugosum is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names annual b-a-s-t-a-r-d cabbage,common giant mustard or turnipweed. Funny, it marked my comment as inappropriate and I had to change the name, when this is the common name, as mentioned above.

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Myrna Engle on Jun 10, 2014
That's why my reply was turned down. They sure are afraid we'll be inappropriate.

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Jootsie Sivad on Jun 10, 2014
Well, that B word IS in the Bible... along with some others

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Pamela Jordan on Jun 11, 2014
IF YOU LIKE IT, IT'S A FLOWER! IF NOT, IT'S A WEED!

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Teo on Dec 28, 2014
Rapita este o planta industriala din care se extrage un ulei foart fin ptr. industria mecanica fina..

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