Calepina Adanson, Fam. Pl. 2: 423. 1763.
Ihsan A. Al-Shehbaz
Tribe: Calepineae Horan., Char. Ess. Fam.: 169. 1847.
Name derivation: Greek chalepaino, a term used by Theophrastus probably in connection with weedy plants.
Type species: “Myagrum monosp. minus” (= Calepina corvinii (Allioni) Desvaux, based on Crambe corvinii Allioni).
Herbs, annual, rarely biennial. Trichomes absent or simple. Multicellular glands absent. Stems erect to ascending, often branched from base. Basal leaves petiolate, often rosulate, simple, lyrate to pinnatifid or dentate; cauline leaves sessile, sagittate or auriculate to amplexicaul, dentate or entire. Racemes many flowered, ebracteate, corymbose, elongated considerably in fruit; rachis straight; fruiting pedicels divaricate or ascending, straight or curved upward to slightly recurved, persistent. Sepals ovate to oblong, freee, caducous, ascending to spreading, equal, base of lateral pair not saccate. Petals white or very rarely pink to lavender, equal and abaxial pair larger than adaxial, longer than sepals; blade oblanceolate; claw if differentiated from blade shorter than sepals, glabrous, unappendaged, entire. Stamens 6, slightly exserted, erect, slightly tetradynamous; filaments wingless, unappendagd, glabrous, free; anthers oblong or ovate, not apiculate. Nectar glands not confluent, lateral intrastaminal, median glands distinct. Ovules 1 per ovary. Fruits indehiscent silicles, nutlike, ovoid or ellipsoid to subglobose, terete or quadrangular, unsegmented, readily detached at maturity from pedicel; valves woody, reticulate and usually longitudinally 4-ribbed or smooth and not reticulate, wingless, unappendaged; gynophore 0.1–0.2 mm; replum rounded; septum absent; style obsolete; stigma entire, unappendaged. Seeds aseriate, wingless, ovoid to subglobose and plump or oblong to suborbicular and flattened; seed coat smooth, not mucilaginous when wetted; cotyledons conduplicate at base, involute in distal half or spirolobal. x = 7.
Species 2: Europe, Asia, n Africa; 1 introduced in North America.
References: Blake (1957), Hardin (1958).