Abstract
Mustards, Brassicas which have 18 pairs of chro-mosomes, are important vegetables in the Orient. In Japan, though they are of relatively minor impor-tance, there are many local varieties and rather wide variations of characteristics in the mustards grown there. The authors have collected and cultivated about 200 varieties from Japan, China, Formosa and Nepal since 1946, and have investigated their characters. According to their plant size, root forms, tillering ability, and leaf characters, the authors classified them into eight classes and 25 groups, as shown in the table. (1) Brown mustard This oil mustard is of world-wide importance and is generally grown for its oil and for flour. It is little grown in Japan, mostly confined in the north-ern part. (2) Tuberous rooted mustard Cultivation of this curious vegetable is confined in North China, Manchuria and Mongolia, where the winter is severe (Fig. 1 and 5). (3) Chinese curled mustard It is grown in Central China and differs from the curled mustard (5) in respect to its fasciculate growth (Fig. 5). (4) Narrow leaf mustard Although resembling to some types of the former (3), it is distinguished in muilified leaves and has been grown in the same region (Fig. 7). (5) Curled mustard Possibly of South Asiatic origin. It is frequently grown for a salad in Europe and America, and its several varieties have established themselves in Japan (Fig. 8). (6) Broad leaf mustard In China its distribution ranges from the middle to more or less southern parts. It was possibly introduced early into Japan, and has been locally grown in the middle and southern parts (Fig. 9). (7) Cabbage mustard It has widely been cultivated in the South-east Asia, especially in South China and Himalaya and has been the most important vegetable for salting, because of the lack of Chinese cabbage and radish production there. Its quality is excellant. In Japan it was introduced from Szechwan, China, about fifty years ago, and has been acclimatized through hybridization with the Japanese varieties. It is becoming important for commercial growing in this country (Fig. 10). (8) Tuberous stemmed mustard A wonderful type grown in South China, especi-ally Szechwan Province and Formosa. Its salted products are very delicious, being regarded as the best pickle in Asia (Fig. 1). All classes except the brown mustard which is considered as the basic type, can be summed up into the following four group based on their characters and distribution. 1. The tuberous rooted mustard which is distrib-uted in the northern part of the Chinese Continent. 2. The Chinese curled mustard and narrow leaf mustard in Central China. 3. The broad leaf mustard, cabbage mustard and tuberous stemmed mustard in South-east Asia. 4 The curled mustard of probably South Asiatic origin. These four groups would have probably been main stems in the evolution of varieties from the brown mustard. It may be concluded as follows: The species of Brassica juncea is a native of Cen-tral Asia, and the variation in the characteristics of mustards occurred in the region from the south to north-east of it's native area. Various forms cultivated at first in this native place have evolved and differentiated into the polymorphic and valuable variations in China.
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