The Brassicaceae are herbs or rarely subshrubs comprising about 350 genera and 3,000 species. The leaves are alternate or rarely opposite and typically are simple but sometimes have deeply parted segments; stipules are lacking. The flowers are bisexual and almost always actinomorphic. The perianth consists of a calyx of 4 distinct sepals and typically a corolla of 4 distinct petals that are commonly clawed and diagonally disposed. The androecium is tetradynamous, consisting of 4 long inner stamens and 2 short outer stamens. The gynoecium consists of 2 carpels that are generally separated by a persistent false partition called a replum. The superior ovary is usually 2-loculed and bears few to many ovules on parietal placentae. At maturity, the 2 valves of the fruit typically separate, leaving the ovules attached to the persistent replum. Long, narrow fruits of this family are called siliques, short broad ones are called silicles.
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