Leaves generally basal and cauline, alternate, generally simple; stipules 0
Inflorescence: generally raceme
Flower bisexual; sepals 4, free; petals (0)4, free, generally white or yellow, often clawed; stamens generally (2,4)6, generally 4 long, 2 short; ovary 1, superior, chambers generally 2, septum membranous, connecting 2 parietal placentas, style 1, stigma simple or 2-lobed
Fruit: generally capsule ("silique") with 2 deciduous valves, sometimes breaking transversely or indehiscent
Seeds 1–many per chamber
Genera in family: 300+ genera, 3000+ species: worldwide, especially cool regions; some cultivated for food (especially Brassica, Raphanus ) and ornamental
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to include Capparaceae [Rodman et al. 1993 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 80:686–699; Rollins 1993 Cruciferae of Continental North America. Stanford Univ Press]
Family description, key to genera by Robert A. Price.
GUILLENIA
Roy E. Buck
Annual, glabrous to ± hairy below
Stem often hollow, ± glaucous
Leaves: basal rosetted, often withering in flower, generally ± oblanceolate, entire to deeply cut, petioles < blades; upper leaves reduced
Inflorescence longer in fruit; bracts generally 0
Flower: sepals pouched at base or not, greenish or not; petals ± linear to obovate; anthers coiled or ± curved when open; style generally ± tapered, stigma small, entire or shallowly 2-lobed
Fruit ascending to reflexed, ± cylindric; stalk-like base < 1 mm, = body width
Seed ± oblong, brownish or yellowish; wing 0
Species in genus: 3 species: w North America
Etymology: (Father C. Guillen, Jesuit missionary, Mexico, born 1677)
| Native |
G. lemmonii (Greene) R.E. Buck
Leaves: lower blades 2–16 cm, (ob)lanceolate, entire to shallowly cut, often 1–2-lobed at base; uppermost leaves generally ± subsessile
Inflorescence: pedicels in fruit (2)3–9 mm
Flower sweetly fragrant; parts ascending to spreading; sepals 2.5–6 mm, not pouched at base, pink or purplish; petals 3–9 mm, oblanceolate to obovate, pink or whitish with pink veins, blade not channeled, not wavy-margined, narrowed to short claw; stamens nearly equal; style > 1 mm
Fruit ascending to reflexed, 2–7 cm, ± straight
Seed ± 1 mm, yellowish or brownish
Chromosomes: n=14
Ecology: Open slopes, plains, often alkaline soil
Elevation: 300–1600 m.
Bioregional distribution: s Sierra Nevada Foothills, sw San Joaquin Valley, se Outer South Coast Ranges, Inner South Coast Ranges, n Western Transverse Ranges
Synonyms: Thelypodium l. GreeneHorticultural information: SUN, DRN, IRR: 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
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