Home
Herbs annual, biennial, or perennial, sometimes subshrubs, rarely shrubs or climbers. Trichomes absent or simple. Stems erect or ascending, sometimes creeping, simple or branched basally and/or apically. Basal leaves rosulate or not, simple, entire or pinnately dissected. Cauline leaves petiolate or sessile, base cuneate, attenuate, auriculate, sagittate, or amplexicaul, margin entire, dentate, or dissected. Racemes ebracteate, corymbose, elongated or not in fruit. Fruiting pedicels terete, flattened, or winged, erect or divaricate. Sepals ovate or oblong, rarely orbicular, base of lateral pair not saccate. Petals white, yellow, or pink, erect or spreading, sometimes rudimentary or absent; blade obovate, spatulate, oblong, oblanceolate, orbicular, linear, or filiform, apex obtuse, rounded, or emarginate; claw absent or distinct. Stamens 2 and median, sometimes 6 and tetradynamous or subequal in length, rarely 4 and all median or 2 median and 2 lateral; anthers ovate or oblong. Nectar glands 4 or 6, distinct; median glands always present. Ovules 2 per ovary; placentation apical. Fruit dehiscent silicles, oblong, ovate, obovate, cordate, obcordate, elliptic, or orbicular, strongly angustiseptate; valves veinless or prominently veined, keeled or not, apically winged or wingless; replum rounded; septum complete or perforated, membranous; style absent, obsolete, or distinct, included or exserted from apical notch of fruit; stigma capitate, entire or rarely 2-lobed. Seeds 1 per locule, winged, margined, or wingless, oblong or ovate, plump or flattened; seed coat smooth, minutely reticulate, or papillate, usually copiously mucilaginous when wetted; cotyledons incumbent, rarely accumbent or diplecolobal.
Annual to perennial herbs or shrubs, glabrous or with simple hairs. Inflorescence ebracteate. Sepals erect to spreading, equal. Petals variously shaped, sometimes absent. Stamens 6, 4 or 2. Nectariferous glands variable, 6 or 4, tuberculate or filiform. Ovary sessile or rarely on a gynophore; style very short to very long; stigma capitate to slightly bilobed. Fruit a silicula, pedicellate, dehiscent or (in former Cardaria and Coronopus species) indehiscent but usually splitting into two 1-seeded (or 2-seeded) articles, not constricted into a valve and beak region, flattened at right angles to septum (angustiseptate), usually notched with the style either enclosed in or exserted from notch; valves usually strongly keeled, usually winged, in former Coronopus species the valves are ± hemispherical and not winged, in former Cardaria species the fruit are cordate, somewhat inflated, subglobose, usually with entire (not notched) apex, terminated by a prominent persistent style, and not keeled or winged. Seeds 1, rarely 2, per locule, pendulous, round to flat and winged, mucous; cotyledons simple or divided or folded (diplecolobous); radicle incumbent (rarely accumbent).
Annual or perennial, small to medium-sized herbs or subshrubs with a taproot, often finely pubescent with unicellular simple hairs. Stems erect or ascending, sometimes procumbent, freely branched. Leaves membranous or coriaceous, simple to pinnatipartite. Racemes terminal or axillary, ebracteate, densely corymbose, with numerous small to minute flowers, in fruit narrowly cylindrical, contracted or elongate but usually rather dense. Sepals elliptic, not saccate, greenish. Petals usually whitish, somewhat longer or shorter than the sepals, often even lacking. Stamens 6, 4 or 2, median and/or lateral ones reduced; filaments usually linear to subulate. Nectarial glands usually 6 or 4, adjacent to the bases of the lateral filaments. Ovary flat, dorsiventrally compressed, elliptic in outline; ovules 2. Fruit a silicula, dehiscent, strongly compressed, narrowly septate, usually orbicular to elliptic in outline, entire or winged (especially distally), with the short style in an apical notch. Seeds single in each locule, very finely reticulate, mucilaginous, usually reddish brown, rather flat, elliptic to obovate in outline, sometimes narrowly and unilaterally winged.
Annual or perennial, small to medium-sized herbs or subshrubs with taproot, often finely pubescent with simple hairs. Stems erect or ascending, sometimes procumbent, freely branching. Leaves membranous or coriaceous, simple to imparipinnatipartite. Racemes terminal or axillary, ebracteate, densely corymbose, with small to minute flowers, in fruit narrowly cylindrical, contracted or elongate but usually rather dense. Sepals elliptic, not saccate, greenish. Petals usually whitish, somewhat longer or shorter than the sepals, or often lacking. Stamens 6, 4, or 2, median and/or lateral ones reduced; filaments usually linear to subulate. Nectarial glands usually 6 or 4, adjacent to the bases of the lateral filaments. Ovary flat, dorsiventrally compressed, elliptic in outline, ovules 2. Fruit a silicula, dehiscent, flat, strongly compressed, narrowly septate, usually orbicular to elliptic in outline, winged (especially distally) or not, with the short style as an apical notch. Seeds single in each locule, very finely reticulate, mucilaginous, usually reddish brown, rather flat, elliptic to obovate in outline, sometimes narrowly and unilaterally winged.
Annual, biennial or perennial taprooted herbs, sometimes subshrubby with stout woody rootstock, rarely shrubs. Hairs simple or papillate or 0. Stems prostrate to erect, leafy. Lvs simple, toothed or 1-2-pinnatifid, or pinnate. Racemes ebracteate. Sepals erect to patent, not saccate. Petals white, rarely yellow or reddish, or often 0. Stamens (0)-2-6, without appendages. Nectaries variable, 6 or 4, tuberculate or filiform. Style long, short or 0; stigma capitate. Silicle ovate, elliptic, obovate, circular or rhomboid, angustiseptate, dehiscent; valves keeled and usually winged, the wings forming a notch at apex and sometimes fused to the base of the style. Seeds ovoid, winged or not, 1 per locule.
Annual or perennial herbs, glabrous or pubescent with simple trichomes; leaves entire to bi-or tripinnate, sessile or the lower petiolate; inflorescences terminating the upper branches, racemose, congested in flower, elongating in fruit; flowers small; petals lacking or mere vestiges or up to 3 mm. long, white to sulphur-yellow; stamens 2, 4 or 6, anthers nearly orbicular; siliques strongly flattened contrary to the narrow replum, usually rounded, glabrous to hirsute, apex scarcely notched and barely winged to deeply notched and prominently winged; styles present or absent; seeds 2, one in each locule; cotyledons accumbent to incumbent.
Sep oblong to rotund; pet small, white (yellow), linear to spatulate, or often lacking; stamens 6, or by abortion 4 or 2; anthers small, oval; ovary flat; ovules 1 per locule, suspended; style short or none; stigma capitate; fr a silicle, flattened contrary to the narrow septum, thin or somewhat distended over the seeds, ovate to orbicular or obovate, often winged, commonly retuse, tipped by the persistent style or stigma; herbs with linear to elliptic, entire to pinnatifid lvs. 175, cosmop.
Fls small, in racemes. Sepals obliquely ascending, not saccate; petals white, < or > sepals or absent; stamens often stunted or reduced to 4 or 2; style obsolescent to distinct; stigma capitate or 2-lobed. Silicles laterally much compressed, 2-seeded; valves keeled or winged above, reticulately veined; septum narrow, ovules pend. from apex of each cell; cots incumbent. Annual to perennial herbs or subshrubs. About 150 spp., some almost cosmopolitan. The N.Z. spp. are mostly endemic.
Perennial herbs, erect, hoary, hairs simple. Leaves simple. Inflorescence elongating from a corymb, ebracteate. Sepals spreading, non-saccate. Petals clawed. Stamens 6. Nectariferous glands 6; medians 2, triangular; laterals 4, semilunate. Style evident, stigma capitate. Silicula indehiscent, cordate, inflated. Seeds 1 or 2 per locule. Radicle incumbent.
Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, occasionally somewhat shrubby, glabrous or with simple hairs, usually with a slender tap-root.
Flowers small, whitish, in terminal and axillary, ebracteate racemes.
Seeds usually 1 in each loculus, pendent from the apex.
Petals 4, sometimes vestigial or O. Stamens 2, 4 or 6.
Fruit a silicule with keeled or winged valves.
Leaves entire to pinnate.
Sepals not saccate.
Ovary 2-ovulate.
