BRASSICA TOURNEFORTII

Family and Genus:- See- CRUCIFERAE

Common Name:- None

Homotypic Synonyms:- Brassica barrelieri subsp. tournefortii, Brassica

tournefortii var. leiocarpa, Coincya tournefortii, Erucastrum tournefortii.

Meaning:- Brassica (L) A name used by the Roman naturalist and philosopher

Pliny for various cabbage-like plants.

Tournefortii (L) For Joseph de Tournefort (1656-1708), renaissance

plant systematist.

General description:- Annual, rarely perennial.

Stems:-

1) Up to 50 cm.

Leaves:-

1) Lower, numerous, rosulate, very shortly petiolate, runcinate-pinnatifid, with 7-10

pairs of obtuse lobes, hispid, especially along the thick, white mid-vein, and

ciliate.

2) Cauline, few, sessile, more or less entire, glabrous.

Flowers:-

1) Remaining erect after anthesis.

2) Sepals suberect, sparsely hispid or glabrous.

3) Petals 5-7 mm, narrowly oblong-obovate, pale yellow, usually violaceous at the

base, becoming whitish.

Fruit:-

1) Siliqua 35-65 x 2·5-3 mm, constricted at intervals, very shortly stipitate,

attenuate into a 0- to 2-seeded beak 10-20 mm long. 1/3-1/2 as long as the

valvar portion.

Key features:-

1) Beak of siliqua shorter than the valves.

2) Flowers remaining erect after anthesis.

3) Petals 5-7 x 1·5 mm, small and narrow.

4) Beak of siliqua 10-20 mm

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Sandy fields, dune slacks, wasteground, usually near the sea. 0-50(-350)

Distribution:- W. and C. Mediterranean from Portugal eastwards to Italy and

Greece, including N Africa. Very limited distribution on Crete mainly around the

east and west coastal regions.

Flowering time:- Mar to early May.

Photos by:- Dr. Armin Jagel

Native to:
Algeria, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Egypt, Greece, Gulf States, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, North Caucasus, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, Sinai, Spain, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Yemen

Introduced into:
Arizona, California, Cape Provinces, Colombia, Corse, France, India, Korea, Mauritania, Mexico Northwest, Nevada, New Mexico, New South Wales, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Niger, Northern Territory, Portugal, Primorye, Queensland, Senegal, South Australia, Tasmania, Texas, Utah, Victoria, Western Australia