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

[Biennial] perennial herb, generally glaucous; hairs simple or 0.
Stem: erect or decumbent.
Leaf: basal rosetted, petioled, entire or dentate; cauline sessile, base lobed or clasping.
Inflorescence: elongated or not.
Flower: sepals erect, lateral pair not sac-like at base; petals white to ± purple, obscurely clawed.
Fruit: silicle, flat perpendicular to septum, dehiscent, unsegmented; valves keeled, generally winged; stigma entire.
Seed: 2–10[24], in 1 row, wingless.
80 species: temperate, generally n hemisphere. (D. Nocca, botanist, director of botanical garden, Pavia, Italy 1758–1841) [Koch & Al-Shehbaz 2004 Syst Bot 29:375–384]
Unabridged references: [Holmgren 1971 Mem New York Bot Gard 21:1–106]

Previous taxon: Nasturtium officinale
Next taxon: Noccaea fendleri

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	Red area (if present) is the part of the bioregion lying between the upper and lower elevation limits of the taxon; 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 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.	Map made in collaboration with Scott Loarie. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. View all CCH records