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Arabidopsis, mouse-ear, mouse-ear cress, mouse-ear rockcress, mouse-ear thale-cress, thale cress

Habit Annuals; glabrous or pubescent, trichomes usually simple, sometimes mixed with stalked, forked ones.
Stems

simple or few from base, erect, unbranched or branched distally, (0.2–)0.5–3(–5) dm, pubescent basally, trichomes predominantly simple, glabrous apically.

Basal leaves

shortly petiolate;

blades obovate, spatulate, ovate, or elliptic, 0.8–3.5(–4.5) cm × (1–)2–10(–15) mm, margins entire, repand, or dentate, apex obtuse, adaxial surface with predominantly simple and stalked, 1-forked trichomes.

Cauline leaves

subsessile;

blade lanceolate, linear, oblong, or elliptic, (0.4–)0.6–1.8(–2.5) cm × 1–6(–10) mm, margins usually entire, rarely toothed.

Flowers

sepals 1–2(–2.5) mm, lateral pair not saccate basally, (glabrous or sparsely pubescent distally, trichomes simple);

petals white, spatulate, 2–3.5(–4) × 0.5–1.5 mm, (base attenuate to claw);

filaments 1.5–2 mm.

Fruiting pedicels

divaricate, 3–10(–15) mm.

Fruits

cylindric or linear, smooth, terete, (0.8–)1–1.5(–1.8) cm × 0.5–0.8 mm;

valves each with distinct midvein;

ovules 40–70 per ovary;

style to 0.5 mm.

Seeds

light brown, (plump), ellipsoid 0.3–0.5 mm;

cotyledons incumbent.

2n

= 10.

Arabidopsis thaliana

Phenology Flowering Feb–May.
Habitat Sandy areas along roadsides, stream banks, railroad tracks and embankments, open pastures, grassy flats, fields, prairies, floodplains, woods, lawns, limestone ledges and crevices, bluffs, shale and serpentine barrens, gravel, sandstone
Elevation 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CA; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; BC; ON; QC; Europe; sw Asia; c Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also nearly worldwide]
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Discussion

Arabidopsis thaliana is the most widely used model organism in plant biology. Its small genome size, fully sequenced in the year 2000, chromosome number, fast growth cycle (from seed germination to set in four to six weeks), small size (hundreds can be grown in a pot and thousands in a growth chamber), autogamous breeding system (induced mutations are expressed in two generations), and ability to grow on various synthetic media, all make the species an ideal system in experimental biology.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 450.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Camelineae > Arabidopsis
Sibling taxa
A. arenicola, A. arenosa, A. lyrata
Synonyms Arabis thaliana, Sisymbrium thalianum
Name authority (Linnaeus) Heynhold: in F. Holl and G. Heynhold, Fl. Sachsen 1: 538. (1842)
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