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.
ATHYSANUS
Species in genus: 1 sp
Etymology: (Greek: without fringe, from fruit, in contrast to fruit of Thysanocarpus )
| Native |
A. pusillus (Hook.) Greene
Annual, small, leafy toward base
Stem 5–35 cm, often prostrate; branches generally from near base, slender; hairs simple or 2–5-branched
Leaves: basal 6–30 mm, 2–10 mm wide, entire or obscurely dentate, short-petioled, hairs coarse; cauline like basal, sessile, bases not lobed
Inflorescence terminal, slender, 1-sided, open; bracts 0
Flower inconspicuous; sepals ± 1 mm, early deciduous; petals 1–2 mm, spoon-shaped, white, sometimes 0
Fruit 2–2.5 mm wide, ± circular, flat parallel to septum, indehiscent; larger hairs flat, hooked, smaller hairs branched or 0; pedicel recurved, 1–4 mm; style < 0.3 mm, chamber 1
Seed 1, flat; embryonic root at edges of both cotyledons
Ecology: Grassy, open slopes, rocky outcrops
Elevation: generally < 1525 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province (except Sierra Nevada), Desert Mountains (Granite Mtns)
Distribution outside California: to British Columbia, Montana, Mexico
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