OregonFlora: Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides vs. Brassicaceae

	Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides	Brassicaceae
	daggerpod	mustard family
Habit	Herbs perennial; woody caudices simple or few-branched, covered with petiolar remains of previous years.	Herbs, rarely woody subshrubs or shrubs annual, biennial, or perennial; taprooted or with caudices, sometimes rhizomatous; trichomes unicellular, simple, 2–many-rayed, stellate, dendritic, or malpighiaceous; stalked or sessile; multicellular glands with uniseriate or multiseriate stalks present or absent.
Stems	(8)12–25(30) cm, glabrous.	leafy or leafless, sometimes absent.
Leaves		basal and/or cauline; simple or compound; margins entire or variously divided, petiolate or sessile; without stipules.
Basal leaves	persistent, linear-oblanceolate to obovate; (2)3–7(10) × (0.5)0.8–2(2.6) cm; margins entire; surfaces tomentose; petioles (1)2–5.5(8) cm.
Cauline leaves	5–12; ovate, oblong, or linear, 7–20 × 2–6 mm, bases auriculate; margins entire, sessile.
Inflorescences	bracts 0, fruiting pedicels divaricate; (6)10–30(35) mm.	racemes; corymbs, or panicles, sometimes flowers solitary from a basal rosette.
Flowers	sepals erect, caducous, oblong, 4–6 mm, glabrous; lateral pair saccate; petals spatulate to oblanceolate, 9–13(15) × 2.5–4 mm; > sepals, purple; claws undifferentiated from blades; petal tips obtuse, nectar glands confluent; stamens 6, tetradynamous; anthers oblong, 1–1.5 mm; tips obtuse; ovules (6)8–16(18) per ovary; septa complete; styles 0.5–2 mm; stigmas capitate; entire, sessile or gynophores to 2 mm.	bisexual, hypogynous, radially or rarely bilaterally symmetric; sepals 4; in 2 decussate pairs, usually free; petals 4, forming a cross, rarely absent; stamens (2 or 4)6; in 2 whorls, tetradynamous, rarely equal in length or in 3 pairs of unequal length; median filaments free or rarely united; anthers dithecal, dehiscing by longitudinal slits; pollen 3(10)-colpate, trinucleate; pistils 1, 2-carpelled; ovaries superior; placentation parietal or rarely apical; septa complete, perforated, or lacking; styles 1; stigmas entire or 2-lobed, nectar glands receptacular.
Fruits	dehiscent siliques, latiseptate, lanceolate or linear; (20)30–60(90) × (2)3–5(6) mm, glabrous, unsegmented; valves with prominent midveins, not torulose; replums rounded.	typically 2-valved capsules (siliques or silicles), dehiscent or indehiscent; terete, 4-angled, flattened parallel to or perpendicular to septum; replums rounded or rarely winged.
Seeds	(6)8–16(18) per fruit, uniseriate, broadly ovate to oblong, flattened; (2)2.5–3.2 × (1.5)1.8–2.5 mm, not mucilaginous when wetted; wingless; cotyledons accumbent.	uniseriately or biseriately arranged in each locule, rarely aseriate, mucilaginous or not when wetted, winged or wingless; cotyledons incumbent or accumbent, conduplicate.
Trichomes	finely dendritic.
2n	=28.

	Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides	Brassicaceae
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[BONAP county map]
Discussion	Rocky crevices and slopes, gravelly hillsides, sagebrush scrub, sandy banks, grassy or alpine slopes. Flowering Mar–Jul. 50–2800 m. BR, BW, Casc, Col, ECas, Lava, Owy, Sisk. CA, ID, NV, WA. Native.	Cosmopolitan. 340 genera; 59 genera treated in Flora. This family includes many economically important crop plants that are grown as vegetables, sources of vegetable oils (canola), or condiments (table mustard, horseradish, wasabi), or ornamentals. It also includes some 130 species of weeds, including Arabidopsis thaliana, a model organism in experimental and molecular biology. The limits of Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) have not changed in the past two centuries because of characteristic floral and fruit morphology. Generic delimitation within the family is often difficult because of the reliance on fruit characters to separate genera. The ovule number per ovary is a taxonomically important character, which can easily be determined by counting the number of seeds and aborted ovules in the mature fruit. The use of seed number alone may be taxonomically unreliable because many ovules fail to develop into seeds, especially late in the season due to the lack of sufficient pollen.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 500 Ihsan Al-Shehbaz	Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 434
Synonyms	Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides ssp. cheiranthoides, Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides ssp. lanuginosa
Web links	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: OR Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Brassicaceae

daggerpod

mustard family

Habit

Herbs perennial; woody caudices simple or few-branched, covered with petiolar remains of previous years.

Herbs, rarely woody subshrubs or shrubs annual, biennial, or perennial; taprooted or with caudices, sometimes rhizomatous; trichomes unicellular, simple, 2–many-rayed, stellate, dendritic, or malpighiaceous; stalked or sessile; multicellular glands with uniseriate or multiseriate stalks present or absent.

Stems

(8)12–25(30) cm, glabrous.

leafy or leafless, sometimes absent.

Leaves

basal and/or cauline; simple or compound;

margins entire or variously divided, petiolate or sessile; without stipules.

Basal leaves

persistent, linear-oblanceolate to obovate; (2)3–7(10) × (0.5)0.8–2(2.6) cm;

margins entire;

surfaces tomentose;

petioles (1)2–5.5(8) cm.

Cauline leaves

5–12; ovate, oblong, or linear, 7–20 × 2–6 mm, bases auriculate;

margins entire, sessile.

Inflorescences

bracts 0, fruiting pedicels divaricate; (6)10–30(35) mm.

racemes; corymbs, or panicles, sometimes flowers solitary from a basal rosette.

Flowers

sepals erect, caducous, oblong, 4–6 mm, glabrous;

lateral pair saccate;

petals spatulate to oblanceolate, 9–13(15) × 2.5–4 mm; > sepals, purple;

claws undifferentiated from blades;

petal tips obtuse, nectar glands confluent;

stamens 6, tetradynamous;

anthers oblong, 1–1.5 mm;

tips obtuse;

ovules (6)8–16(18) per ovary;

septa complete;

styles 0.5–2 mm;

stigmas capitate; entire, sessile or gynophores to 2 mm.

bisexual, hypogynous, radially or rarely bilaterally symmetric;

sepals 4; in 2 decussate pairs, usually free;

petals 4, forming a cross, rarely absent;

stamens (2 or 4)6; in 2 whorls, tetradynamous, rarely equal in length or in 3 pairs of unequal length;

median filaments free or rarely united;

anthers dithecal, dehiscing by longitudinal slits;

pollen 3(10)-colpate, trinucleate;

pistils 1, 2-carpelled;

ovaries superior;

placentation parietal or rarely apical;

septa complete, perforated, or lacking;

styles 1;

stigmas entire or 2-lobed, nectar glands receptacular.

Fruits

dehiscent siliques, latiseptate, lanceolate or linear; (20)30–60(90) × (2)3–5(6) mm, glabrous, unsegmented;

valves with prominent midveins, not torulose; replums rounded.

typically 2-valved capsules (siliques or silicles), dehiscent or indehiscent; terete, 4-angled, flattened parallel to or perpendicular to septum; replums rounded or rarely winged.

Seeds

(6)8–16(18) per fruit, uniseriate, broadly ovate to oblong, flattened; (2)2.5–3.2 × (1.5)1.8–2.5 mm, not mucilaginous when wetted; wingless;

cotyledons accumbent.

uniseriately or biseriately arranged in each locule, rarely aseriate, mucilaginous or not when wetted, winged or wingless;

cotyledons incumbent or accumbent, conduplicate.

Trichomes

finely dendritic.

=28.

Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides

Brassicaceae

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Rocky crevices and slopes, gravelly hillsides, sagebrush scrub, sandy banks, grassy or alpine slopes. Flowering Mar–Jul. 50–2800 m. BR, BW, Casc, Col, ECas, Lava, Owy, Sisk. CA, ID, NV, WA. Native.

Cosmopolitan. 340 genera; 59 genera treated in Flora.

This family includes many economically important crop plants that are grown as vegetables, sources of vegetable oils (canola), or condiments (table mustard, horseradish, wasabi), or ornamentals. It also includes some 130 species of weeds, including Arabidopsis thaliana, a model organism in experimental and molecular biology. The limits of Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) have not changed in the past two centuries because of characteristic floral and fruit morphology. Generic delimitation within the family is often difficult because of the reliance on fruit characters to separate genera. The ovule number per ovary is a taxonomically important character, which can easily be determined by counting the number of seeds and aborted ovules in the mature fruit. The use of seed number alone may be taxonomically unreliable because many ovules fail to develop into seeds, especially late in the season due to the lack of sufficient pollen.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 500
Ihsan Al-Shehbaz

Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 434

Synonyms

Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides ssp. cheiranthoides, Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides ssp. lanuginosa

Web links