BRASSICACEAE

MUSTARD FAMILY

Reed C. Rollins, except as specified

Annual to subshrub
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.

POLYCTENIUM

Species in genus: 1 sp
Etymology: (Greek: many combs, from leaves)

Native

P. fremontii (S. Watson) Greene

Perennial, cespitose, often glaucous
Stems erect, few–several, generally simple, 5–15 cm; caudex without persistent leaf bases, branched
Leaf 1–2 cm, ± sessile, deeply pinnately lobed to compound, rigid; lobes or leaflets ± 1–5 mm, linear, often sharp-pointed with terminal hair; hairs stiff, generally branched
Inflorescence ± dense, ± umbel-like; bracts 0
Flower: sepals erect, 2–3 mm, oblong; petals 5–6 mm, white to pale purple
Fruit ascending to erect, often flat perpendicular to septum, glabrous; pedicel ascending, 4–6 mm, straight
Seeds 12–28, 1 row per chamber, ± 1 mm, oblong; wing 0; embryonic root at back of 1 cotyledon
Ecology: Saline soils, playas, lake margins, wet meadows
Elevation: 1000–2000 m.
Bioregional distribution: Great Basin Floristic Province
Distribution outside California: to Idaho, Nevada

Native

var. confertum Rollins

Fruit flat perpendicular to septum
Ecology: Uncommon. Playas, lake margins
Elevation: ± 2000 m.
Bioregional distribution: East of Sierra Nevada
Distribution outside California: Nevada
Horticultural information: TRY.

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