Conringia orientalis (L.) Dumort.
Hare’s ear mustard
Hare’s ear mustard is native to Europe and Asia. It is naturalized and widespread in North America, and is considered an invasive species in some areas, including central Canada.
Plants: Plants are erect annuals, growing 12–28″ (30–70 cm).
Leaves: Leaves are thick, waxy-looking and pale green, ovate (an oval, wider at the stem end). The leaves clasp the stem. Basal leaves are oblanceolate to obovate, 1¾–3½″ (5–9 cm). Upper leaves are oblong to elliptic or lanceolate.
Flowers: Flowers are in racemes of 10-25. Each flower is ⅜″ (1 cm) around, whitish or pinkish, on a stalk (pedicel) up to ⅜″ (1 cm) long. are tiny and white, with approximately 4 petals. About 7 greenish yellow-tipped stamens emerge like an asterisk from the flower center. Flowers appear from May to July.
Fruits: Beanlike siliquae are 3–6″ (8–14 cm) long, usually four-angled.
Edibility: Toxic to livestock.
Habitats: In fields, roadsides, railroad beds, and waste areas.
Online References:
Brassica orientalis L.
5/7/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (11 × 14 cm) 
5/27/2016 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts 
5/16/2014 · Acton Arboretum, Action, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (14 × 10 cm) 
5/19/2017 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Brown Lane, Self-guided Nature Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 3½ × 4″ (9.2 × 10 cm) 
5/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 4½″ (10 × 11 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
5/27/2016 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts 
5/17/2013 · Gibbet Hill, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 14 cm) 
5/27/2016 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts 
5/19/2017 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Brown Lane, Self-guided Nature Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm) 
5/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 2½ × 4″ (7.2 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Brassicales | Mustard, cabbage, caper, papaya, nasturtiums, many others; most produce mustard oil |
| Family | Brassicaceae | Mustards, cabbages |
| Genus | Conringia | Named after Hermann Conring (1606-1681), a German professor and noted intellectual at the University of Helmstedt, Germany |
| Species | orientalis | Eastern (“the orient”) |
Conringia orientalis description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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