Mountain View News Saturday, April 11, 2026 

CHRISTOPHER Nyerges 
[Nyerges is an educator, author, and ethnobotanist who has authored “Nuts and Ber-
ries of California,” and nearly 20 other books. You can find more information at www.
SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com.] 
THE HILLS ARE IN BLOOM WITH THE YELLOW OF 
MUSTARD 
Pet of the Week 
Every spring in Southern California, assum-
ing there has been sufficient rain, the hillsides 
and fields from the beaches to the foothills 
are brightly colored with masses of the yellow 
flowers of mustard. It’s impossible to miss 
them since they are nearly everywhere. You 
see the hillsides covered yellow along most of 
the freeway – along the Pasadena Freeway, the 
605, parts of the 210. You see mustard cover-
ing the hills in most of the natural area parks, 
such as Schabarum Park in Walnut. They 
grow in vacant lots, in fields, in the freeway 
median, and along hiking trails. Mustard is 
everywhere in the Santa Monica Mountains. 
Though you could harvest the seeds and 
make the popular mustard condiment, this is 
not the species usually used to make mustard. 
Foragers can collect the younger leaves, clean 
them, and use them in salad, or better, in cooked dishes such as soups, stir-fries, and egg dishes. As with the 
seeds, the leaves are spicy-hot and liven up any salad. 
These ubiquitous mustard plants are non-native and highly invasive, so foragers are generally welcomed to pick 
them. They are regarded as one of the most invasive plants in Southern California. 
If not native, how did these mustard plants get here in the first place. 
According to botanist Dr. Leonid Enari, the Spanish missionaries brought the mustard seed from Spain to use 
for food and medicine. Even the dried stalks of old mustard were used in the making of the adobe bricks, as 
analysis of the bricks has proved.
Dr. Enari described to his students how the young leaves can be washed, diced, and added to most dishes, and 
even the seeds can be collected from the dried plants though it is time-consuming. 
Dr. Enari shared the popular story that the Spanish missionaries spread the seeds from mission to mission as 
they travelled north.
He said that in the first few years, a Spanish boat out in the Pacific would be able to see a river of bright yellow 
flowers, which marked the path from mission to mission, the El Camino Real. Dr. Enari would laugh as he told 
the story, pointing out that this would work for a few years, but after the first decade, the “path” of mustard grew 
wider and wider. “Eventually, it was everywhere,” shared Dr. Enari, and there was no longer a meaningful path. 
Dr. Enari also shared what may be urban folklore, suggesting that the author of “The Wizard of Oz.” got his 
inspiration for the yellow brick road from the flowering mustard path of El Camino Real. 
It’s well known that the mustard was introduced by Spanish missionaries and colonizers, and botanists point 
out that there is no evidence of mustard being present before the missionaries came. But it's a bit harder 
to prove that black mustard was 
intentionally planted to mark the 
paths, and the point is sometimes 
debated. 
Ivy Loeber of the Napa Historical 
Society believes that it was actu-
ally Father Junipero Serra who 
scattered the mustard seeds as 
they travelled north.
“So wherever you see the Spanish 
mustard in California, you know 
the Spanish fathers visited there," 
wrote Loeber, which is hardly 
true today since the hardy mus-
tard has travelled so far beyond 
any original path.
It’s a fascinating story about the 
origins of mustard in California, though definitive evidence that Father Serra himself planted the first mustard 
seeds is difficult to find. 
Once mustard takes hold in a landscape, it can be extremely difficult for native plants to return, as directors of 
most of the local natural area parks can attest. It germinates earlier than other plants, grows in extremely dense 
patches, and its roots leech out allelopathic chemicals into the soil, preventing anything else --especially other 
native plants -- from growing nearby. 
Then, when the black mustard dries up during the summer, it becomes fuel for wildfires, which is why it must 
be cut back quickly to prevent fires. And this is also why foragers will always be welcome to collect young mus-
tard for food. [But be nice and always ask first]. 
IDENTIFY MUSTARD 
Mustard plants are members of the Mustard 
Family, comprising about 3780 species world-
wide. There are six common “mustard plants” 
that we find in California, all non native. Five 
are of the Brassica genus, such as the black 
mustard, Brassica nigra. The Mediterranean 
mustard was once designated by botanists as 
a Brassica, but it is now in its own genus, as 
Hirschfeldia incana. 
The flowers consist of four petal, four sepals,
six stamens, and one pistil. The leaves are pin-
nately divided, meaning that they look similar 
to a guitar, with a large end lobe, and smaller 
side lobes. 
If you’re uncertain if the plant you’ve found is a 
mustard, take it to any nursery or post the pic-
ture on-line for verification. But do not ever eat 
any wild plant until you have positively identi-
fied it. 
USING MUSTARD FOR FOOD 
The young leaves are best for salad, since the older leaves become tough and bitter. All the leaves can be cooked 
in soups, egg dishes, and stir-fries. They can also be washed, diced, and pickled. The yellow flowers taste like 
mild broccoli and add color to salads and soups. 
If you want to try the seeds, go to an area where the plants have grown tall and begun to dry. The narrow pods 
will be tan colored. The technique for harvesting mustard seeds that I have found most efficient is to collect 
the entire dried plants (containing the seed pods) into a 5 gallon plastic bucket. As you pack the dried plants 
the bucket, the pods break and the seeds are released, going to the bottom of the bucket. You can keep addingdried material to the bucket, and mash it, and the seeds will go to the bottom. Then, when you remove all the 
plant material, all the brown seeds will be in the bottom of the bucket. After winnowing, you’ll have the pure 
seed, which you can add to other foods, or grind into powder. (Note: it takes me about an hour to get a cup 
of the seed). 
WHAT DO THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE THINK 
According to Heidi Lucero, chairwoman of the tribal council of the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians, “The 
colonizers came in and choked out the Native people here. And now the plants they brought are choking out 
the native plants here. It’s kind of a good comparison.” 
Abe Sanchez is a founding member of the Indigenous food group called Chia Café Collective, with a book by 
the same name which describes how to eat native foods. Lately, Sanchez has been recommending that those 
interested in foraging leave the native plants alone, and eat the leaves and flowers of the non-native mustard 
instead. 
ROCKY ROCKS IT! 
Here's your 
real life dark 
ch o c o l a te 
forever treat! 
Rocky is a 
confident and 
loving male. 
He looks like 
a little panther cub with his silky smooth 
coat, and he has a very long and fluffy 
tail, but he is solid LOVE. He loves peo-
ple, and wants to be your best friend, especially if you pet and brush him 
or play with him. He loves attention and 
will go where you go, and try to partici-
pate in whatever you do. He also loves his 
mealtime! 
If you are home and are looking for a true 
best friend, Rocky would be a great addi-
tion to your home. If you are gone most of 
the day, he needs to be adopted with one of 
his siblings: Ollie, Sammy, or Dottie, who 
are all at the same foster home. Apply to 
meet Rocky at https://www.lifelineforpets.
org/mindys-kittens.html, and get ready for 
a rockin’ life with Rocky! 
Three-year-old Mozza at is a sweet,
adventurous gal! This energetic pupat Pasadena Humane loves long walksand playing in the yard, but also enjoyssettling down for a tasty chew. In herfoster home, she gets along with anotherdog and has been very gentle with kids. 
Mozza also loves to participate in 
playgroup at the shelter and is a regularat foster sleepovers and mobile events,
where her fun-loving personality reallyshines. She is also on the lookout for a 
special adopter who can help manage herhealth, as she does experience occasionalseizures. 
If you’re interested in an incredible and beautiful dog with a heart of gold, come meetMozza today!
Walk-in adoptions are available every day from 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. View photos ofadoptable pets at pasadenahumane.org. 
New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and-wellness exam from VCAAnimal Hospitals, as well as a goody bag filled with information about how to care 
for your pet.Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potentialadopters by phone calls or email. 
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com