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Brassicaceae
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BRASSICACEAE - MUSTARD FAMILY

By Toni Corelli

This is the second of a series of articles about flowering plant families. —ed.
  • Annuals, herbaceous perennials
  • Leaves basal and alternate, simple or compound
  • Inflorescence generally a raceme
  • Flowers bisexual, regular; sepals and petals 4, separate, petals often in the shape of a cross; stamens 6, 4 long 2 short; pistil 1, ovary superior, style 1, stigma lobes 2
  • Fruit a silique (long and narrow) or a silicle (short and broad, or roundish)
  • Some genera cultivated as ornamentals or for food (e.g., broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard, radish, water cress). Many have a pungent juice.
  • Synonym - Cruciferae, meaning cross-like, refers to shape the petals make.

American winter cress (Barbarea orthoceras) was inadvertently left out of the flora but can be added by cutting out the description and image on page 4 and adding it to your flora. It occurs in the moist areas and has bright yellow flowers.

Many members of our Brassicaceae Family flower early and quickly, and some of the flowers are very small. What is more obvious are the fruits (fertilized ovaries): these are either silicles or siliques. Silicles are short and broad, or roundish; siliques are long and narrow.

The silicles of the shining peppergrass (Lepidium nitidum) and the shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) are often observed on our tours. They are illustrated in the family characteristics illustration. The silicle for the shining peppergrass is almost round with a notch at the tip; the shepherd’s purse is somewhat heart shaped. Both have a line down the front of the fruit; this is where the silicle will split when the seeds are ripe and many tiny seeds will spill out. The moonwort (Linaria annua) is a new addition to the plant list recently discovered near the bathroom facility at the day camp. It has bright pink flowers and silver dollar-like fruits. The hairy fringepod (Thysanocarpus curvipes) also has a round shaped silicle; inside the center there is only 1 seed, the area around the seed is sometimes perforated.

The few-seeded bitter-cress (Cardamine oligosperma) is one of our most common plants along trail. It has very small white flowers; the compound basal leaves are more noticeable forming a rosette at the base of the plant. Although it is called few-seeded, there are many seeds in each silique, the elongated fruit of the Mustard Family.

Many species of Brassicaceae have been cultivated since prehistoric time. This family is very diverse and comprised of about 350 genera and 3,500 species.

Pending Classification Changes

The April 2002 Fremontia (issued in January 2003) describes a number of pending taxonomic changes, mostly for the Scrophulariaceae and Liliaceae families. These changes do not have to be ratified by any other scientific organization, but can take effect now that they’ve been published. However, they will probably continue to evolve until they are published in a new edition of the Jepson Manual. After talking with a curator at the Jepson Herbarium, it became clear that there will be even more changes and some of the current changes may not withstand the scientific scrutiny that follows a publication of this kind. So for now we will stay with the current taxonomic classification as is published in Jepson. I will be discussing more about the changes published in Fremontia when I get to specific families where changes will be made.—Toni


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