Charlock - Cowbar Nature

This spring a mass of charlock came through on the newly installed bund along Cowbar Lane.
Charlock is frequent on cliff tops where the land is famed, as Cowbar grassland was, 25 years ago, and known as an agricultural weed which can spoil crops.
It also grows along roadsides, railways, tips and wasteland.
On Cowbar, the seeds are likely to have been in the soil from decades before and construction of the bund brought them to the surface.
From a distance, the yellow flowers look very similar to oilseed rape and wild cabbage flowers.
Charlock is also known as wild mustard. It can flower from May through to August. The seeds can be used to make a mild mustard. The leaves were once boiled and eaten.
Oil can be extracted from the seed which has been used to lubricate machinery.
Other names for charlock include bazzocks, bread and marmalade, headridge and wild kale.
We have been removing it from the bund as it is vigorous and spreads easily, crowding out other plants and reducing biodiversity.
Although thousands of plants have come through this spring, this could be only about 2% of the seeds still in the soil.