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.

STREPTANTHUS

JEWELFLOWER

Roy E. Buck, Dean W. Taylor, and Arthur R. Kruckeberg

Annual to perennial herb, glabrous to bristly, generally ± glaucous
Leaves ± entire to pinnately compound; basal generally rosetted, generally ± petioled; cauline linear to (ob)ovate, often clasping
Inflorescence generally ± open; bracts generally 0
Flower biradial or bilateral; calyx generally ± urn-shaped, sepals erect, generally not green, bases ± pouch-like, generally keeled; petals generally exserted, blade generally narrower than claw, ± channeled, margins ± wavy, generally ± scarious; stamens generally in 3 free pairs; style 0 or short, stigma generally ± entire, blunt
Fruit long, generally strongly compressed parallel to septum
Seeds generally compressed, generally ± winged
Species in genus: ± 40 species: sw US, n Mex
Etymology: (Greek: twisted flower, from wavy-margined petals)
Reference: [Dolan & LaPré 1989 Madroño 36:33–40; Kruckeberg & Morrison 1983 Madroño 30:230–244]
Caulanthus sometimes including here. Calluses on leaf margins of some mimic pierid butterfly eggs, reducing larval herbivory. Variable, complex; needs study.

Native

S. breweri A. Gray

Annual < 10 dm, branched above or throughout, glabrous
Leaves: basal generally widely (ob)ovate, entire to coarsely dentate, generally petioled; lower cauline clasping; middle and upper cauline generally ± lanceolate, entire
Flower: sepals purplish or greenish white; upper petals whitish or purple-veined, lower ± purple; upper filament pair fused, with reduced anthers
Fruit ascending or spreading, 2–11 cm, generally ± curved, ± narrowed between seeds
Seed: wing 0 or at 1 end
Ecology: Serpentine barrens in chaparral or woodland
Elevation: 250–1700 m.
Bioregional distribution: s-most Klamath Ranges, High North Coast Ranges, c&s Inner North Coast Ranges, e San Francisco Bay Area, Inner South Coast Ranges.Varieties intergrade.

Native

var. breweri

Plant < 10 dm, ± blue-green
Leaves < 12 cm; lower entire to wavy- or blunt-dentate
Inflorescence ± straight
Flower: calyx somewhat narrowed at tip, sepals 3–9 mm, greenish white or purplish, generally glabrous; petals 5–13 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=28
Ecology: Habitats and range of sp. Variable
Elevation:
Bioregional distribution: s-most Klamath Ranges, High North Coast Ranges, c&s Inner North Coast Ranges, e San Francisco Bay Area, Inner South Coast Ranges
Horticultural information: DRN, SUN: 7; DFCLT.

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