Chorispora tenella

Chorispora tenella -- flowers

Purple mustard is a favorite edible of another local forager. He spends more time in desert terrain, where this is more common, so he finds it a lot more than I do, but I do admit that this is well worth seeking out. You can check out his website at wildutahedibles.com.

This is a rather weedy species, and grows well in disturbed soils. So one of the best places to find it is in on dirt piles near construction sites. Any place which has been disturbed, but not landscaped yet it prime terrain for this plant. It is best to pick it in the spring, when the leaves are younger and tender, and the flowers still blooming. It can get tough later in the summer.

The leaves and seed pods have a very good mustard flavor. They are kind of spicy, so I would not eat a lot of it plain, but as a way to add mustard flavor to a sandwich or other dish, this does the flavor with excellence.

entire plant

It is best when young enough that the flowers are still blooming, so they are a good way to identify the plant. Look for four purple petals in a cross shape. The petals are also a bit wavy, with darker purple near the center. Purple flowers are uncommon in the mustard family. The long seed pods also confirm it as a member of the mustard family.

The only species in the area which looks similar is African mustard. That plant also has four-petaled purple flowers, but they are much smaller, with shorter petals which do not form an obvious cross shape. The leaves are also covered with spiny hairs which make it unpleasant to try to eat.