Jepson Herbarium
		University of California, Berkeley

Directory       News       Site Map       Home

Indexes to all accepted names and synonyms: | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |

Annual to shrub; sap pungent, watery.
Leaf: generally simple, alternate; generally both basal, cauline; stipules 0.
Inflorescence: generally raceme, generally not bracted.
Flower: bisexual, generally radial; sepals 4, generally free; petals (0)4, forming a cross, generally white or yellow to purple; stamens generally 6 (2 or 4), 4 long, 2 short (3 pairs of unequal length); ovary 1, superior, generally 2-chambered with septum connecting 2 parietal placentas; style 1, stigma entire or 2-lobed.
Fruit: capsule, generally 2-valved, "silique" (length >= 3 × width) or "silicle" (length < 3 × width), dehiscent by 2 valves or indehiscent, cylindric or flat parallel or perpendicular to septum, segmented or not.
Seed: 1–many, in 1 or 2 rows per chamber, winged or wingless; embryo strongly curved.
± 330 genera, 3780 species: worldwide, especially temperate. [Al-Shehbaz et al. 2006 Plant Syst Evol 259:89–120] Highest diversity in Medit area, mtns of sw Asia, adjacent c Asia, w North America; some Brassica species are oil or vegetable crops; Arabidopsis thaliana used in experimental molecular biology; many species are ornamentals, weeds. Aurinia saxatilis (L.) Desvaux in cultivation only. Aubrieta occasional waif in c NCoR, Carrichtera annua (L.) DC. in SCo, Iberis sempervirens L., Iberis umbellata L. in PR, Teesdalia coronopifolia (Bergeret) Thell., Teesdalia nudicaulis (L.) W.T. Aiton in s NCoRO, CCo. Cardaria, Coronopus moved to Lepidium; Caulostramina to Hesperidanthus; Guillenia to Caulanthus; Heterodraba to Athysanus; CA taxa of Lesquerella to Physaria; Malcolmia africana to Strigosella. —Scientific Editors: Douglas H. Goldman, Bruce G. Baldwin.

Key to Brassicaceae

Annual to perennial herb; hairs simple when present; glands multicellular, stalked.
Leaf: basal rosetted, petioled, dentate to pinnately lobed; cauline petioled [0], bases not lobed.
Inflorescence: elongated.
Flower: sepals erect, base sac-like; petals ± purple-blue to white [yellow], clawed.
Fruit: silique, linear, cylindric, sessile, indehiscent, segmented, constricted between seeds, breaking at maturity into 1-seeded corky segments, tapered at tip; style 2–15 mm, stigma strongly 2-lobed.
Seed: 5–30, in 1 row, embedded in corky septum cover; wing 0.
11 species: Eurasia. (Latin: from breaking between seeds)

Annual, glandular, occasionally hairy.
Stem: erect to ascending, (0.5)1–4(5.6) dm, simple or branched.
Leaf: basal, lower cauline (1.5)2.5–8(13) cm, oblong to oblanceolate, coarsely dentate; distal cauline similar, reduced.
Flower: sepals erect, (3)4–5(6) mm, free, forming tube, ± purple; petals 8–10(12) mm, oblanceolate, long-clawed, purple, lavender (white).
Fruit: spreading to ascending, (1.4)1.8–2.5(3) cm, 1.5–2 mm wide; style (0.6)1–1.8(2.2) cm; pedicel spreading, (2)3–5 mm, stout.
Seed: 10–24, 1–1.4 mm, oblong.
2n=14. Disturbed areas, pastures; < 2300 m. Cascade Range, Great Central Valley, South Coast, Great Basin Floristic Province;

Previous taxon: Chorispora
Next taxon: Cochlearia

Contact/Feedback

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) [year] Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html [accessed on month, day, year]
Citation for an individual treatment: [Author of taxon treatment] [year]. [Taxon name] in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, [URL for treatment]. Accessed on [month, day, year].

Copyright © 2012 Regents of the University of California
We encourage links to these pages, but the content may not be downloaded for reposting, repackaging, redistributing, or sale in any form, without written permission from The Jepson Herbarium.

Bioregions in which taxon occurs	Markers link to CCH specimen records. If the markers are obscured, reload the page [or change window size and reload]. Yellow markers indicate records that may provide evidence for eFlora range revision or may have georeferencing or identification issues.
Chart based on elevation range in Manual and elevations and coordinates of CCH records. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. Note: About half of the CCH records include both elevation and coordinates.	Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. View all CCH records   CCH collections by month Duplicates counted once; synonyms included. Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa. Blue line denotes Manual flowering time.