Brassicaceae
Erucastrum

Erucastrum arabicum Fisch. & C.A.Mey.

First published in Index Seminum (LE, Petropolitanus) 5: 35 (1839)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Egypt to Namibia, Arabian Peninsula. It is an annual and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Annual erect herb, up to 100 cm tall, sparsely to moderately hispid
Morphology Leaves
Lower leaves petiolate, up to 18 x 5 cm, spathulate to lyrate-pinnatifid (or even pinnatisect); margins irregularly dentate, sinuate or repand; upper leaves ± sessile, smaller, less divided
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes ebracteate or with bracts at the lowermost pedicels
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals 2.5–3.5 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 3.5–6 mm long, bright yellow, spathulate to almost clawed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Siliquae 15–50 x c. 1.5 mm, straight; beak 1.5–4.5 mm long; valves glabrous to sparsely hispidulous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicels 3–20 mm long, ascending
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds 0.8–1.2 mm long, light to dark brown, smooth or very finely reticulate.
Distribution
N1–3 East Africa
Ecology
Altitude range 1200–1600 m.
[FSOM]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Cruciferae, Bengt Jonsell (University of Stockholm). Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1982

Morphology General Habit
Annual herb, up to 100 cm. high with 1-few shoots from the base, unbranched or with rather few long branches in the upper part, sparsely hispid on stem and leaves.
Morphology Leaves
Lower leaves petiolate, up to 18 cm. long and 5 cm. broad, spathulate to lyrate-pinnatifid, with up to 4 pairs of triangular to oblong lateral lobes, margins irregularly dentate, sinuate or repand; upper leaves similar but ± sessile, shorter, narrower and usually less divided.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes ebracteate or with bracts at the lowermost pedicels, dense, with numerous small flowers; in fruit lax, up to 40 cm. long with 5–20 mm. long ascending slender pedicels.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals oblong, 2.5–3.5 mm. long, sparsely hispidulous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals yellow, spathulate to almost clawed, with oblong blade, 3.5–6 mm. long, ± 2 mm. broad.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Longer stamens 4–5.5 mm. long, anthers ± 1 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Nectaries
Nectaries as lobes at both sides of each lateral stamen and as one lobe outside each pair of median stamens.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary glabrous or with short hairs; stigma semiglobose.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Siliquae straight, often torulose, 15–50 mm. long, ± 1.5 mm. broad; beak 1.5–4.5 mm. long; valves glabrous or sparsely hispidulous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds light to dark brown, oblong to elliptic in outline, 0.8–1.2 mm. long, smooth to very finely reticulate.
Figures
Fig. 2.
Habitat
Disturbed places in upland forest and cultivated land; near sea-level to 2500 m.
Distribution
K1 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T7 U1 U2 Probably indigenous in the Ethiopian area and montane E. Africa, perhaps in Namibia but in many regions an introduced weed
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images