Herbs annual, biennial, or perennial, sometimes subshrubs or shrubs, with a pungent, watery juice. Eglandular trichomes unicellular, simple, stalked or sessile, 2-to many forked, stellate, dendritic, or malpighiaceous (medifixed, bifid, appressed), rarely peltate and scalelike; glandular trichomes multicellular, with uniseriate or multiseriate stalk. Stems erect, ascending, or prostrate, sometimes absent. Leaves exstipulate, simple, entire or variously pinnately dissected, rarely trifoliolate or pinnately, palmately, or bipinnately compound; basal leaf rosette present or absent; cauline leaves almost always alternate, rarely opposite or whorled, petiolate or sessile, sometimes absent. Inflorescence bracteate or ebracteate racemes, corymbs, or panicles, sometimes flowers solitary on long pedicels originating from axils of rosette leaves. Flowers hypogynous, mostly actinomorphic. Sepals 4, in 2 decussate pairs, free or rarely united, not saccate or lateral (inner) pair saccate. Petals 4, alternate with sepals, arranged in the form of a cross (cruciform; hence the earlier family name Cruciferae), rarely rudimentary or absent. Stamens 6, in 2 whorls, tetradynamous (lateral (outer) pair shorter than median (inner) 2 pairs), rarely equal or in 3 pairs of unequal length, sometimes stamens 2 or 4, very rarely 8-24; filaments slender, winged, or appendaged, median pairs free or rarely united; anthers dithecal, dehiscing by longitudinal slits. Pollen grains 3-colpate, trinucleate. Nectar glands receptacular, highly diversified in number, shape, size, and disposition around base of filaments, always present opposite bases of lateral filaments, median glands present or absent. Pistil 2-carpelled; ovary superior, sessile or borne on a distinct gynophore, mostly 2-locular and with a false septum connecting 2 placentae; placentation parietal, rarely apical; ovules anatropous or campylotropous, bitegmic, 1 to many per locule. Fruit typically a 2-valved capsule, generally termed silique (siliqua) when length 3 × or more than width, or silicle (silicula) when length less than 3 × width, dehiscent or indehiscent, sometimes schizocarpic, nutletlike, lomentaceous, or samaroid, segmented or not, terete, angled, or flattened parallel to septum (latiseptate) or at a right angle to septum (angustiseptate); valves 2(or 3-6); replum (persistent placenta) rounded, rarely flattened or winged; septum complete, perforated, reduced to a rim, or lacking; style 1, distinct, obsolete, or absent; stigma capitate or conical, entire or 2-lobed, sometimes lobes decurrent and free or connate. Seeds without endosperm, uniseriately or biseriately arranged in each locule, aseriate when 1, winged or wingless, mucilaginous or not when wetted; cotyledons incumbent (embryo notorrhizal: radicle lying along back of 1 cotyledon), accumbent (embryo pleurorrhizal: radicle applied to margins of both cotyledons), or conduplicate (embryo orthoplocal: cotyledons folded longitudinally around radicle), rarely spirally coiled (embryo spirolobal). Germination epigeal.
Herbs, sometimes subshrubs (very rarely small trees). Leaves alternate, basal ones often in a rosette, not stipulate, ± petiolate, entire to variously divided. Inflorescences terminal or sometimes axillary racemes, in flower mostly condensed and often corymbose, in fruit elongate, usually ebracteate. Flowers hermaphrodite, actinomorphic or slightly zygomorphic, hypogynous, 4-merous, heterochlamydous. Sepals 4, free, imbricate, the inner ones quite often saccate. Petals 4 (rarely absent), free, usually equal, ± clawed, imbricate or contorted. Stamens 6, tetradynamous (rarely 4 or 2), usually free; anthers usually 2-thecous, opening lengthwise; pollen grains mostly 3-, 4-or multicolpate. Nectarial glands variously arranged at the filament-bases. Ovary superior, sessile or stipitate, of seemingly 2 united carpels, divided into 2 “secondary” locules by a thin membranous septum (sometimes transversely locular); placentation parietal; ovules usually many, ana-or campylotropous; stigma bifid or connate. Fruit a bivalved dehiscent siliqua or silicula (see key), sometimes a nutlet, lomentum or otherwise constructed. Seeds virtually devoid of endosperm, with cotyledons incumbent, accumbent or variously folded
Plants ephemeral, annual, biennial or perennial; herbs, subshrubs or rarely shrubs. Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, entire to deeply dissected, variable in form. Inflorescence a raceme, a simple corymb or a panicle, usually without bracts. Flowers usually perfect, bisexual, actinomorphic, nectariferous. Sepals 4, in two whorls, the inner pair often cupped at the base. Petals 4, usually clawed, usually spreading above the claw to form a cross, sometimes absent. Stamens usually 6, occasionally 4 or 2, hypogynous, typically tetradynamous with outer whorl of two short stamens and inner whorl of four long stamens. Gynoecium superior, of 2 fused carpels, bilocular, false septum dividing ovary, typically present and persistent after seed dispersal; style single; stigma usually bilobed; placentation parietal. Fruit a siliqua or silicula, usually dehiscent. Seeds sometimes mucous when moistened; cotyledons folded (conduplicate: folded longitudinally; diplecolobous: folded transversely) or flat (radicle incumbent: lying against abaxial surface of cotyledon; radicle accumbent: lying against edges of the cotyledons).
Annual, biennial or perennial herbs (rarely somewhat shrubby) with alternate (rarely opposite or verticillate) exstipulate, simple or compound leaves sometimes forming a basal rosette
Ovary sessile (rarely stipitate), syncarpous of 2 carpels, 1-locular with 1–2 parietal placentas or divided into 2 chambers by a false septum
Fruit usually a dehiscent silique or silicule (more rarely indehiscent or transversely or longitudinally jointed)
Stamens usually 6, tetradynamous (rarely fewer or numerous); anthers 2-(rarely 1-) thecous, opening lengthwise
Flowers actinomorphic (except for the stamens) usually bisexual, hypogynous
Sepals 4, free, in two series, often somewhat saccate
Seeds 1 to numerous, with no or very little endosperm
Petals 4 (rarely fewer or absent)
Inflorescence usually racemose