Mustard Plants?

Question

Why do mustards have kidney-shaped leaves?

Answer 1

That I'm afraid is an unknown of nature.

The only answer I can offer is that through evolution the mustard plant found this the best way to collect light for photosynthesis. Based on the fact that a lot of seeds would be dispersed at once meaning they would grow together, perhaps this is the best shape when you have a lot of plants together...so they all share the light as equally as they can.

Just an idea really !

Like why humans only have two legs, I guess the reason would be two legs are better for walking upright than 4, more economical.

Answer 2

Interesting question!

#1. The cotyledonary leaves of mustard are kidney shaped.  Subsequent leaves have torpedo to heart shaped development and then grow to a normal leaf.

#2. The development of leaf shape is regulated by various genes and so you can find the time differences in the development of leaf forms not only in mustard but in other plants also.

Answer 3

Some don't have kidney-shaped leaves.  Those that do have evolved for centuries.

Mustard was one of the first crops domesticated by man. Early mention of mustard is made by Pythagoras in 530 BC as a remedy for scorpion bites.

Perhaps you will be interested to know that although the varieties of mustard are well-established crops in Hellenistic and Roman times, which leads to the assumption that it was brought into cultivation at an earlier time, there are almost no archeological records available for any of these crops.  

Wild forms of mustard and its relatives the radish and turnip can be found over west Asia and Europe, suggesting that their domestication took place somewhere in that area.

There has been recent research into varieties of mustards that have a high oil content for use in the production of biodiesel, a renewable liquid fuel similar to diesel fuel. The biodiesel made from mustard oil has good cold flow properties and cetane ratings. The leftover meal after pressing out the oil has also been found to be an effective pesticide.

An interesting genetic relationship between many species of mustard has been observed, and is described as the Triangle of U.

In 2004, Saskatchewan had 82 percent of Canada's seeded acreage, and 82 percent of Canada's production of mustard. Saskatchewan accounts for nearly half the world's supply of mustard seed.

French's Cream Salad Mustard made its debut with the hot dog at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.