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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.

DRABA

Robert A. Price

Annual to perennial herb, often cushion- or mat-forming; hairs often branched
Leaves basal and sometimes cauline, entire or shallowly toothed
Flower: sepal bases equal; petals < 10 mm, yellow or white, claw and limb generally distinct
Fruit < 30 mm, generally lanceolate to ovate, generally flat parallel to septum, less often partially inflated, sometimes twisted or wavy
Seeds: 2 rows per chamber; wing generally 0
Species in genus: 350+ species: n hemisphere, mtns of South America
Etymology: (Greek: acrid)
Reference: [Rollins & Price 1988 Aliso 12:17–27]

Native

D. praealta Greene

Biennial to short-lived perennial herb
Stems 1–few from base, 10–35 cm; hairs dense, simple and stellate
Leaves gray-green; hairs simple, forked, and 4–8-branched, stellate; basal 10–30 mm, oblanceolate, entire to dentate; cauline 1–6, not overlapped
Inflorescence < 35-flowered; lower pedicels ascending, > 3 mm
Flower: petals 2–4 mm, white to yellowish cream
Fruit above middle of stem, 5–14 mm, narrowly lanceolate, ± not twisted, ± not wavy; hairs simple and forked; style 0.1–0.4 mm
Seeds < 75, ± 0.8 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=56
Ecology: Uncommon in CA. Montane or subalpine moist meadows, streambanks
Elevation: > 2500 m.
Bioregional distribution: c High Sierra Nevada (e slope, Mono and Inyo cos.)
Distribution outside California: w US, Canada

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