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Key to Brassicaceae, Key C: plants in fruit, trichomes of plant absent or, if present, unbranched

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image of plant
Show caption*© John Gwaltney
image of plant
Show caption*© Milan Chytrý, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Milan Chytrý
1 Fruits silicles (< 3× as long as wide).
  2 Fruits 2-segmented
    3 Plants succulent, leaves usually fleshy
    3 Plants herbaceous, not succulent, leaves not fleshy
  2 Fruits unsegmented.
      4 Fruits 2 cm or more wide
      4 Fruits < 2 cm wide.
        5 Fruits with 20 or more seeds
        5 Fruits with 16 or fewer seeds.
          6 Fruits with 1 seed.
             7 Plants > 5 dm tall
             7 Plants < 5 dm tall
          6 Fruits with 2-16 seeds.
               8 Fruits with 2 seeds
               8 Fruits with more than 2 seeds.
                 9 Leaves pinnately lobed
                   10 Stems 5-12 (-20) dm tall; leaf blades of basal leaves (3-) 5-12 (-17) cm long
                   10 Stems 0.5-1.5 (-2) dm tall; leaf blades of basal leaves 0.3-1.5 (-2) cm long
                 9 Leaves not lobed.
                     11 Plants not fetid; seeds usually smooth, yellowish to medium brown
                     11 Plants fetid; seeds striate or alveolate, dark gray to dark brown or black
image of plant
Show caption*© Bruce Sorrie
image of plant
Show caption*© Gary P. Fleming
1 Fruits siliques (> 3× as long as wide).
                       12 Fruits indehiscent or breaking into 1-seeded segments.
                          13 Fruits not segmented, 1-seeded
                          13 Fruits segmented, usually more than 1-seeded.
                            14 Styles obsolete; plants glabrous; [coastal]
                            14 Styles 1-5 mm; plants pubescent; [inland]
                       12 Fruits dehiscent, more than 1-seeded.
                              15 Fruits segmented.
                                16 Cauline leaf blade bases auriculate (except B. juncea); terminal silique segment seedless (rarely 1-2-seeded), conic
                                16 Cauline leaf blade bases not auriculate; terminal silique segment 1-5-seeded (sometimes 0).
                                  17 Fruit valves 1-veined
                                  17 Fruit valves 3-7-veined.
                                    18 Valves of the fruit 3 (-5) veined
                                    18 Valves of the fruit 3-5 (-7) veined.
                                       19 Terminal segment of fruit linear 0.1-1.6 cm long, seedless or 1-seeded.
                                       19 Terminal segment of fruit ensiform (flattened and 2-edged), (1-) 1.5-2.5 (-3) cm long, seedless
                              15 Fruits unsegmented.
                                         20 Fruits (all, or at least some) solitary, borne on scapes
                                         20 Fruits in racemes (or corymbose clusters).
                                           21 Fruits latiseptate (flattened parallel to the septum).
                                             22 Replums strongly flattened; fruit valves dehiscing elastically, coiled
                                             22 Replums terete or rounded; fruit valves not dehiscing elastically or coiled.
                                               23 Seeds not winged.
                                                 24 Fruit stipitate; cauline leaves entire, not auriculate; flowers pink to purple (or white in W. carteri), [natives of sandhills and coastal plain, NC to s. MS]
                                                 24 Fruit sessile or short-stipitate; cauline leaves usually lobed or at least dentate, the bases auriculate or somewhat clasping; flowers yellow; [non-natives, widespread]
                                               23 Seeds winged at least distally.
                                                    25 Cauline leaves pinnatifid or pinnatisect
                                                    25 Cauline leaves entire or dentate
                                           21 Fruits terete or 4-angled.
                                                      26 Plants aquatic or semi-aquatic; rooting at nodes
                                                      26 Plants terrestrial, though rarely growing partially submersed; not rooting at nodes.
                                                        27 Fresh leaves smelling of garlic when crushed, reniform or cordate, dentate
                                                        27 Fresh leaves not smelling of garlic when crush, rarely reniform or cordate, dentate or not.
                                                          28 Seeds biseriate
                                                          28 Seeds uniseriate.
                                                            29 Stigma lobes obviously decurrent
                                                            29 Stigma lobes sometimes distinct but not decurrent.
                                                              30 Lower cauline leaves entire or dentate.
                                                                 31 Cauline leaves spaced, not concealing stem, spreading to slightly ascending; petals 7-12 mm long
                                                                   32 Basal leaves obovate to oblanceolate, unlobed; cauline leaves entire; siliques 8-13 cm long
                                                                   32 Basal leaves incised or lyrate-lobed; cauline leaves with dentate to serrate margins; siliques 2-4 cm long
                                                                 31 Cauline leaves usually ascendant and concealing stems (at least basally); petals 2-5 mm long (except for 5-10 mm long in B. missouriensis)
                                                              30 Lower cauline leaves pinnatifid or pinnatisect.
                                                                     33 Terminal leaflet lobes nearly entire to crenate or undulate
                                                                     33 Terminal leaflet lobes sharply toothed or cut
                                                                       34 Basal leaves usually withered by flowering; cauline leaf lobes entire to lyrately lobed; usually petals white to pink; [native of riparian habitats]
                                                                       34 Basal leaves usually present at flowering or after; cauline leaves with linear, filiform, lyrate, or runcinate lobes (occasionally unlobed, but if so then leaves usually linear or otherwise thin); petals yellow; [non-natives of various habitats]