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.
CAKILE
SEA ROCKET
Annual, perennial herb, fleshy, many-branched, generally glabrous
Stem erect or decumbent
Leaf fleshy
Inflorescence terminal, elongating; bracts generally 0
Flower: petals lavender to white
Fruit fleshy, green, in age dry, corky, with 2 transversely jointed, indehiscent segments, each falsely 1-chambered, generally 1-seeded
Seeds: upper > lower
Species in genus: ± 4 species: shores, North America, Eur, Africa
Etymology: (Arabic name)
Reference: [Rodman 1974 Contr Gray Herb 205:3–146]
| Introduced |
C. edentula (Bigelow) Hook.
Annual, generally ascending to erect
Leaf widely ovate to obovate or spoon-shaped, petioled or not
Fruit 1–3 cm; upper segment with ± flat beak, tip acute to notched
Chromosomes: 2n=18
Ecology: Beach dunes
Elevation: < 50 m.
Bioregional distribution: North Coast, Central Coast, South Coast
Distribution outside California: native to e N.America
Synonyms: subsp. californica (A. Heller) Hultén
Formerly more common in CA, now being replaced by C. maritima.
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