''Moricandia'' is a genus of plants of the family
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The le ...
. This genus is mainly distributed in North Africa, the Middle East, and Southern Europe. It is associated with arid and semi-arid environments. Flowers of this genus are actinomorphic-dissymmetrical and mostly lilac in color, although they vary from white to purple depending on the species and climatic conditions. Some species show extreme phenotypic plasticity for flower size, shape, and color.
The fruits are two-valved dehiscent siliques with one or two sets of seeds per valve.
''Moricandia'' shows high variability in the morphological characters used for identification, making this genus's taxonomy complex and, many times, controversial.
Eight species with a variable number of synonymies and subspecies are actually accepted.
''Moricandia arvensis'' also known as purple mistress is the most widely distributed species of this genus. ''Moricandia moricandioides'' commonly known as violet cabbage, a native of the Mediterranean, is cultivated as a garden flower.
Some species of this genus perform
C2 photosynthesis
Photorespiration (also known as the oxidative photosynthetic carbon cycle or C2 cycle) refers to a process in plant metabolism where the enzyme RuBisCO oxygenates RuBP, wasting some of the energy produced by photosynthesis. The desired reaction i ...
, making them interesting in the engineering of C2 crops.
Species
* ''
Moricandia arvensis''
( L.) DC.
* ''
Moricandia foetida''
Bourg. ex Coss.
* ''
Moricandia moricandioides
''Moricandia'' is a genus of plants of the family Brassicaceae. This genus is mainly distributed in North Africa, the Middle East, and Southern Europe. It is associated with arid and semi-arid environments. Flowers of this genus are actinomorphi ...
''
(Boiss.) Heywood
* ''
Moricandia nitens''
(Viv.) Durieu & Barr
* ''
Moricandia rytidocarpoides''
Lorite, Perfectti, Gómez, González-Megías & Abdelaziz
* ''
Moricandia sinaica''
Boiss.
* ''
Moricandia spinosa''
Pomel.
* ''
Moricandia suffruticosa''
(Desf.) Coss. & Durieu
Previously considered a ''Moricandia'' species, ''M. foleyi'' Batt. is now ascribed to the genus ''
Eruca
''Eruca'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, which includes the leaf vegetable known as arugula or rocket.
The number of species is disputed, with some authorities only accepting a sin ...
'' as ''Eruca foleyi'' based in phylogenetic analyses
References
External links
Moricandia DC.by E. Sobrino Vesperinas
Evoflor, a web page on ''Moricandia'' floral evolution
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae genera
{{Brassicales-stub