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. tortuosus Kellogg
MOUNTAIN JEWELFLOWER
Annual to subshrub 1–10 dm, simple or branched
Leaves: basal generally oblong to widely ovate, generally toothed above middle, coarse, petiole winged; cauline generally round to oblong, entire to dentate, upper often larger, generally narrower
Inflorescence: bract generally 1, ovate, entire
Flower: sepals purple, gray-green, or yellowish; petals widely linear, purple to yellow, tips reflexed; filaments exserted, free, upper pair with ± unreduced, ± fertile anthers; stigma ± sessile, lobes weak
Fruit generally reflexed, 8–12 cm, curved
Chromosomes: 2n=28
Ecology: Generally rocky to sandy soils, in open coniferous forest
Elevation: 200–3500 m.
Bioregional distribution: Klamath Ranges, North Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, n San Francisco Bay Area, Outer South Coast Ranges
Distribution outside California: sw Oregon
Variable, needs study; vars. intergrade. Plants with lanceolate leaves from KR (Burnt Ranch, Trinity Co.) undescribed.
| Native |
var. flavescens Jeps.
Annual 2–7 dm, generally few-branched
Leaves and bracts equally pale green
Flower: sepals 4–6 mm, yellowish; petals 6–8 mm, yellowish
Ecology: Uncommon. Forests
Elevation: 2600–3200 m.
Bioregional distribution: s High Sierra Nevada (Kings Canyon, Fresno Co.; Sawtooth Range, Tulare Co.).
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