Brassicaceae - Mustard Family

Brassicaceae - Mustard Family

Formerly known as the Cruciferae, because it has four petals held open in the shape of a cross, this family includes many important vegetables and agricultural crops. There are over 3000 species throughout the world, but the largest number are from temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Several have bright yellow flowers and can be difficult to distinguish from each other before fruits have formed. Identification therefore often relies on the presence of mature fruits. The fruits may have a "beak" at the end and are often divided internally by a longitudinal partition. For identification purposes, the family is usually divided into those species with fruits more than three times as long as broad (excluding the 'beak'), in which case the fruit is termed a siliqua, and those in which they are less than three times as long as broad, in which case the fruit is referred to as a silicula.

Guide to Identify Presented Genera and Species for the Mustard Family

FLOWERS PURPLE, FRUITS LONG AND LINEAR

Chorispora - Musk Mustard
Branched annual, flowers about 1 cm wide.
Leaves basal and alternate, shallowly toothed.
Fruit pods curved upward, long, pointed beak.

Hesperis - Rocket
Tall perennial with many flowers 2-3 cm wide.
Leaves alternate, lanceolate, sharp-toothed.
Fruit pods linear, 4-10 cm long.

SLENDER PLANTS, FLOWERS WHITE OR PINK, FRUITS LONG AND LINEAR

Arabis - Rockcress
Slender plants, often hairy, mostly perennials.
Leaves basal and alternate, entire, narrow.
Fruit pods linear, thin, flattened, 2-7 cm long.

Cardamine - Bittercress
Flowers white, about 1 cm wide. Wet locations.
Leaves mostly pinnately or palmately divided.
Fruit pods linear, cylindrical, 20-35 mm long.

FLOWERS WHITE, PINK OR CREAMY, FRUITS SHORT AND FLATTENED

Capsella - Shepherd's Purse
Slender annual, flowers white, about 4 mm wide.
Basal leaves pinnate, stem leaves small, narrow.
Fruit pods triangular, flattened, 4-8 mm long.

Cardaria - Whitetop
Perennials, flowers in wide, dense clusters.
Leaves alternate, oblanceolate, sharp-toothed.
Fruit pods rounded, inflated, about 5 mm long.

Thlaspi - Pennycress
Hairless plants with white flowers c. 1 cm wide.
Leaves alternate, hairless, broadly lance-shaped.
Fruit pods rounded or wedge-shaped, flattened.

FLOWERS WHITE OR YELLOW, FRUITS SHORT AND ELLIPTICAL

Berteroa - False Madwort
Flowers white with deeply notched petals.
Leaves alternate, small, hairy.
Fruit pods elliptic, short-hairy, 5-7 mm long.

Draba
Mostly small, slender mountain plants.
Leaves small, narrow, mostly entire.
Fruit pods lance- or egg-shaped, 6-20 mm long.

FLOWERS WHITE OR YELLOW, FRUITS SHORT, ROUNDED AND FLATTENED

Alyssum - Madwort
Small biennials, flowers yellow, 3-4 mm wide.
Leaves alternate, small, narrow, entire.
Fruit pods rounded, 3-4 mm long, flattened.

Lepidium - Peppergrass
Flowers very small, in dense, tall clusters.
Leaves mostly pinnately cut into narrow lobes.
Fruit pods obovate, short, about 2-3.5 mm long.

FLOWERS YELLOW, FRUITS LONG AND LINEAR

Descurainia - Tansy-mustard
Slender plants, flowers small, petals narrow.
Leaves deeply cut 2-3 times into narrow lobes.
Fruit pods linear or club-shaped, 10-30 mm long.

Diplotaxis - Wallrocket
Creeping to erect annual, flowers c. 1 cm wide.
Leaves mostly basal, pinnately lobed.
Fruit pods linear, 2-3 cm long, 1.5-2 mm thick.

Erysimum - Wallflower
Mostly flat-hairy plants with showy flowers.
Leaves many, alternate, narrowly lance-shaped.
Fruit pods linear, thin, cylindrical, 1-10 cm long.

Sinapis - Mustard
Branching and leafy, flowers 15-20 mm wide.
Leaves lobed, with large ending leaflet.
Fruit pods quite thick, lined, with long beaks.

Sisymbrium - Tumble-mustard
Plants tall, leafy, branching, flowers often showy.
Leaves alternate and basal, often pinnate.
Fruit pods linear, very thin, 10-30 mm long.

FLOWERS YELLOW, FRUITS SHORT AND ELLIPTICAL TO ROUNDED

Camelina - False Flax
Slender annuals with pale yellow flowers.
Leaves alternate, narrow, with lobes at base.
Fruit pods obovate, inflated, 5-9 mm long.

Lesquerella - Bladderpod
Low, tufted perennials, flowers about 1 cm wide.
Leaves mainly basal, linear to egg-shaped.
Fruit pods elliptic, inflated, about 4-5 mm long.

Physaria - Twinpod
Low, tufted perennials, flowers about 1 cm wide.
Leaves mainly basal, broad, silvery-hairy.
Fruit pods rounded, inflated, in pairs.

Rorippa - Yellowcress
Plants of wet areas. Flowers small, yellow.
Leaves entire or pinnate, the largest leaflet at tip.
Fruit pods sausage-shaped, 3-10 mm long.

Alphabetical listing with links to presented species of the Mustard family:

Scientific Name	English Name	Swedish Name

Alyssum A. alyssoides A. desertorum Arabis A. divaricarpa A. glabra A. holboellii A. nuttallii Berteroa B. incana Camelina C. microcarpa Capsella C. bursa-patoris Cardamine C. breweri C. oligosperma Cardaria C. chalapensis Chorispora C. tenella Descurainia D. incana D. pinnata D. sophia Diplotaxis D. muralis Draba D. breweri D. crassifolia D. nemorosa D. oligosperma D. reptans Erysimum E. capitatum Hesperis H. matronalis Lepidium L. perfoliatum Lesquerella L. alpina Physaria P. didymocarpa Rorippa R. curvisiliqua R. palustris Sinapis S. arvensis Sisymbrium S. altissimum S. loeselii Thlaspi T. arvense T. montanum	Madwort Pale Madwort Desert Madwort Rock Cress Spreading-pod Rockcress Tower Rockcress Holboell's Rockcress Nuttall's Rockcress False Madwort False Madwort False Flax Little-pod Falseflax Shepherd's Purse Shepherd's Purse Bittercress Brewer's Bittercress Few-seeded Bittercress Whitetop Lens-pod Whitetop Musk Mustard Musk Mustard Tansy-mustard Mountain Tansy-mustard Western Tansy-mustard Common Tansy-mustard Wallrocket Annual Wallrocket Draba Lance-leaved Draba Snowbed Draba Woodland Draba Few-seeded Draba Carolina Draba Wallflower Western Wallflower Rocket Dames Rocket Peppergrass Clasping Peppergrass Bladderpod Alpine Bladderpod Twin Pod Common Twinpod Yellowcress Curve-pod Yellowcress Marsh Yellowcress Mustard Charlock Mustard Tumble-mustard Tall Tumble-mustard Small Tumble-mustard Pennycress Field Pennycress Alpine Pennycress	Stenörter Grådådra - Travar - Rockentrav - - Sandvitor Sandvita Dådror Sanddådra Lommar Lomme Bräsmor - - Kardarior Syrisk krassing - - Stillfrön - - Stillfrö Mursenaper Mursenap Drabor - Dvärgdraba Sanddraba - - Kårlar - Hesperisar Hesperis Krassingar - - - - - Fränen - Sumpfräne Senaper Åkersenap Hamnsenaper Hamnsenap Borstsenap Skärvfrön Penningört -

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Contents

English Names Index

Scientific Names Index

Family Index