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.
IDAHOA
FLAT-POD
Species in genus: 1 sp
Etymology: (State of Idaho)
| Native |
I. scapigera (Hook.) A. Nelson & J.F. Macbr.
Annual, scapose, glabrous
Leaves rosetted, several–many, petioled; blades 1–3 cm, ovate, entire to deeply lobed, lobes few, oblanceolate, terminal > others
Inflorescence: peduncles many, (2)3–13 cm, 1-flowered, slender, bractless
Flower: sepals 1.4–2 mm, generally reddish or purplish; petals = or ± > sepals, white
Fruit 6–12 mm, round to widely ovate or elliptic, flattened parallel to septum; beak < 1 mm; style ± 0
Seed 3.5–5 mm wide including ± 1 mm wide wing, ± round, flat; embryonic root at edges of both cotyledons
Chromosomes: 2n=16
Ecology: Moist ledges, slopes, meadows, foothills
Elevation: 600–1900 m.
Bioregional distribution: Cascade Range, San Francisco Bay Area (Mount Hamilton), Inner North Coast Ranges (Mount Saint Helena), n Sierra Nevada, s Sierra Nevada Foothills, Inner South Coast Ranges, Great Basin Floristic Province
Distribution outside California: to British Columbia, Montana
Flowering time: Feb–AprHorticultural information: TRY.
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