BRASSICACEAE Burnett (CRUCIFERAE Juss.)
Large family of about 354 genera and about 4,060 species; some are shrubby species but most are herbaceous, distributed mainly through temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In North Africa there are 81 genera, among which only 8-9 are composed in part or entirely by shrubs or subshrubs. The rest of the genera only have herbaceous species with slightly woody or not woody stems.
Vaughan, J.G., Macleod, A.J. & Jones, B.M.G., 1976. The biology and chemistry of the Cruciferae. Academic Press. London, 355 pp.
Vaughan, J.C. & Whitehouse, J.M., 1971. Seed structure and the taxonomy on the Cruciferae. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 64: 383-409.
Key to genera
1 Subshrubs generally spiny 2
1 Subshrubs not spiny 4
2 Flowers yellow. Fruit not winged Vella pp
2 Flowers white-pinkish, purple or violet 3
3 Subshrubs erect up to 150 cm in height, with violet or purple flowers. Silicle indehiscent, with sclerified walls ± winged. Plant of desert areas Zilla
3 Subshrubs creeping, hemispherical, up to 80 cm in height, with white or white-pink flowers. Silicle dehiscent, without bulges nor wings. Mediterranean plant in high mountains Hormathophylla
4 Flowers yellow Vella pp
4 Flowers white, pink or purple 5
5 Silique conical-cylindrical, plant glaucous spinescent Foleyola
5 Silique compressed, variable in size, in some cases flat and wide (>1 cm) 6
6 Seeds not winged, low subshrubs or plants only woody at the base with herbaceous stems 7
6 Subshrubs with woody stems and branches, seeds clearly winged 8
7 Plants with herbaceous stems, only lignified at the base, leaves wide, entire or dentate, violet flowers (>1 cm) Moricandia
7 Woody subshrubs with ericoid leaves, flowers white, very small ( Lepidium
8 Subshrubs very ramose up to 160 cm in height. Leaves and branchlets green, glabrous, violet flowers Henophyton
8 Subshrubs up to 75 cm in height. Leaves and branchlets whitish, pubescent branched hairs 9
9 Plant with medifixed bifurcate hairs (T). Silique flattened Farsetia
9 Plant with stellate hairs. Silique cylindrical Diceratella
Updated by: H. Sáinz, J.F. Mota & F.J. Pérez García.