Annuals; (littoral or aquatic); scapose; glabrous throughout. Stems erect, unbranched. Leaves (persistent); basal; rosulate; sessile; blade margins entire; cauline absent. Racemes (lax or somewhat congested), slightly or considerably elongated in fruit. Fruiting pedicels usually ascending, rarely divaricate, divaricate-ascending, or suberect, slender or stout. Flowers: sepals (sometimes persistent), ascending to erect, ovate-oblong, lateral pair not saccate basally; petals (rarely absent), white, narrowly oblanceolate to lingulate, (slightly exceeding sepals), claw undifferentiated from blade, apex obtuse; stamens subequal; filaments not dilated basally; anthers ovate; nectar glands confluent, subtending bases of stamens. Fruits silicles, shortly stipitate, obovoid to ellipsoid [oblong], smooth, terete or slightly inflated; valves each not veined; replum rounded; septum complete; ovules 4–18 per ovary; style absent; stigma capitate. Seeds biseriate, slightly compressed, not winged, oblong; seed coat not mucilaginous when wetted; cotyledons incumbent. x = 14, 15.

Distribution

n North America, Europe (n, Russia), Africa.

Discussion

Species 2 (1 in the flora).

The second species of the genus, Subularia monticola A. Brown ex Schweinfurth, is endemic to high elevations of tropical Africa. For a discussion and distinguishing characteristics of all taxa of the genus, as well as a map of the North American distribution, see G. A. Mulligan and J. A. Calder (1964).

Selected References

Mulligan, G. A. and J. A. Calder. 1964. The genus Subularia (Cruciferae). Rhodora 66: 127–135.

Lower Taxa

Subularia aquatica