This is commonly called Mustard family. Plants are annual or perennial herbs rarely shrubby.
ROOT
Top root, sometimes swollen on account of food shortage used as food.
STEM
Herbaceous, erect, cylindrical rarely woody, often reduced (Radish, trump) so that the leaves appear radical.
LEAF
Simple, canline and ramal, alternate, ex-stipulate, very much divided, radicle mostly in rosettes but sessile and auriculate in the floral region.
INFLORESCENCE
Raceme, corymb or corymbo raceme.
FLOWER
Ebracteate, no bracteoles, pedicellate, bisexual, regular, complete, actinomorphic rarely zygomorphic, hypogenous, cyclic. Bracts and bracteoles usually absent.
CALYX
Four in two whorls, free, caduceus, inner lateral repals are often saccate or pouch shaped at the base, imbricate, inferior.
COROLLA
Four petals clawed, imbricate or twisted, inferior.
ANDROECIUM
Six stamens, free, tetradynamous arranged in two whorls, the shorter stamens are in number and outer in position, while the four longer stamens arranged in two pairs are inner in position.
GYNOECIUM
Bicarpellary syncarpous, ovary unilocular becoming bilocular by the appearance of false septum the replum, across two placentae. Placentation parietal, ovules many, style short, stigma simple or bifid.
FRUIT
Capsular or siliqua or silicula.
SEEDS
Oily, ex albuminous with large embryo completely filling the seed.
FLORAL FORMULA
+, ♀, K2+2, C4, A2+4, G (2).
FLORAL DIAGRAM
e.g. Brassica campestain (Mustard or Sarson),
raphams staivs (Padish or Mooli), Brassica rapa (turnip or shadgam), Brassica deracea var (Cabbage or bund gobi) and brassica oleraceavar (cauliflower or Phul gobi).
(119) FIG 40 PAGE 68 AND FIG 41 PAGE 69 ANGIOSPERMS BY G. L. CHOPRA
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
(1) Leaves, roots and inflorescence of many plants are used as vegetables.
(2) Seeds are expressed for the manufacture of oil for cooking and massage.
(3) Used in medicine and as condiment.
(4) Used as ornamental plants
(5) Used as fodder for cattle.
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