Erucastrum austroafricanum Al-shehbaz & Warwick

Species

Angiosperms > Brassicales > Brassicaceae > Erucastrum

Characteristics

Annual herbs, erect, up to 60 cm tall small and simple or robust and much-branched. Stem and branches densely retrorsely scabro-hispid. Basal leaves up to 30 cm long and 10 cm broad, but in the smaller plants as little as 5 cm long, petiolate, lyrate-pinnatifid, 3-7-jugate with the upper lobes ± confluent with the large, ovate, oblong or ± obovate, up to 8 x 9 cm, ± obtusely denticulate terminal lobe; lateral lobes short and broad, obtuse, up to 6 x 4 cm, frequently pointing backwards. Stem leaves similar but gradually reduced in size, in number of lobes and in length of petiole till the uppermost leaves are sessile, amplexicaul, oblong to broadly lanceolate, the margin dentate or serrate-denticulate; all leaves thinly to densely scabro-hispid, somewhat glabrescent. Racemes 5-12-flowered, dense in flower, in fruit lax, elongate; rhachis scabro-hispid; pedicels all or only the lower ones subtended by a bract, sparsely hispid or puberulous; in fruit stout, wide-spreading, very unequal; lower fruiting pedicels 1-3 cm long, upper ones 2-7 mm long. Sepals 4.5-6 mm long, linear-oblong, puberulous or sparsely hispid. Petals 6-8 mm long, oblanceolate. Ovary linear, glabrous, but young developing fruit soon becoming puberulous; ovules 40-60, Siliquae 7-12.5 cm long, 1.9-2.2 mm broad, linear, subcompressed; valves strongly 3-nerved, rounded on the back, puberulous or rarely glabrous; style 2.5-4 mm long, stout, clavate. Seeds in 1 row, 1-1.1 x 0.7-0.8 mm, ovoid-oblong, light brown, finely reticulate; cotyledons folded longitudinally, emarginate.
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Annual herb, 0.25-0.60 m high, small or simple or robust and much branched. Stems and branches retrorsely scabro-hispid. Leaves: basal leaves petiolate, lyrate-pinnatifid, 3-7-jugate, terminal lobe large, ovate, oblong or obovate, obtusely denticulate, lateral lobes short and broad, obtuse, sometimes pointing backwards; cauline leaves similar but petioles gradually reduced to sessile in uppermost leaves, oblong to broadly lanceolate, margins dentate or serrate-denticulate, scabro-hispid, somewhat glabrescent. Inflorescence a bracteate raceme. Sepals linear-oblong, puberulous or sparsely hispid. Petals oblanceolate. Flowering time Aug.-Dec. Fruit a linear siliqua, puberulous. Seeds ovoid-oblong, reticulate, emarginate, light brown.
Annual herb, up to 0.6 m high; small and simple or robust and much branched. Stems erect or decumbent. Leaves petiolate and sessile; trifoliate; basal leaves lyrate-pinnatifid, 3-7-jugate, stem leaves similar but gradually reduced in size, uppermost ones sessile, amplexicaul. Flowers: in 5-12-flowered racemes, rachis scabro-hispid, pedicels all or only lower ones subtended by a bract; petals narrowly obovate, 6-8 mm long, yellow; Aug.-Dec. Fruit with pedicels stout, wide-spreading; siliquae linear, 70-125 x 1.9-2.2 mm, subcompressed, puberulous.
An annual herb. It is erect and branched and grows 60 cm tall. The stems have lines along them and are whitish with rough hairs. It has a long stout taproot and a ring of leaves at the base. These are large and deeply lobed. The leaves on the stems have shallow lobes or teeth. The flowers are yellow and 6-8 mm long. They are in dense clusters at the top of the plant. The fruit is long and narrow and curved. It has a beak at the end. The seeds are small and brown. They have a rough surface.
Erect, annual herb, up to 0.6 m high, with simple hairs. Inflorescence bracteate. All or only lower pedicels subtended by bracts. Siliquae ± compressed, puberulous. Flowers yellow.
Life form annual
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.6
Root system tap-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a subtropical plant. It can grow in arid places.
Light -
Soil humidity 1-3
Soil texture 7-8
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

The young leaves are eaten as a green vegetable.
Uses food medicinal
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Potherb (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Erucastrum austroafricanum world distribution map, present in Australia and South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:70027973-1
WFO ID wfo-0000677472
COL ID 6H2N5
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 969900
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Plastobrassica pachypoda Sisymbrium thellungii Brassica pachypoda Erucastrum austroafricanum