''Crambe'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial no ...
of
annual and
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek language, Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to ...
s in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
Brassicaceae,
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entertai ...
to a variety of habitats in Europe, Turkey, southwest and central Asia and eastern Africa. They carry dense
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the ...
s of tiny white or yellow flowers on (mostly leafless) stems above the basal leaves. ''Crambe hispanica'' subsp. ''abyssinica'', formerly known as ''
Crambe abyssinica'', is grown for the oil from the seeds that has characteristics similar to
whale oil
Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' (" tear" or "drop").
Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the hea ...
.
The word "crambe" derives, via the Latin ''crambe'', from the Greek ''κράμβη'', a kind of cabbage.
''Crambe'' species are used as food plants by the
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...
e of the weevil ''
Lixus canescens'' (
Coleoptera
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
)
[ ''Skuhrovec, J. & Volovnik, S.'' (2015) Biology and morphology of immature stages of ''Lixus canescens'' (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Lixinae). Zootaxa, 4033(3): 350-362. ] and some
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...
species including the
lime-speck pug.
Species
Currently accepted species include:
*''
Crambe alutacea''
Hand.-Mazz.
*''
Crambe arborea''
Webb ex Christ
*''
Crambe armena''
N.Busch
*''
Crambe cordifolia''
Steven
*''
Crambe edentula''
Fisch. & C.A.Mey. ex Korsh.
*''
Crambe feuilleei''
A.Santos ex Prina & Mart.-Laborde
*''
Crambe filiformis''
Jacq.
*''
Crambe fruticosa''
L.f.
*''
Crambe gigantea''
(Ceballos & Ortuño) Bramwell
*''
Crambe gomeraea''
Webb ex Christ
*''
Crambe gordjagini''
Sprygin & Popov
*''
Crambe grandiflora''
DC.
*''
Crambe grossheimii''
I.I.Khalilov
*''
Crambe hedgei''
I.I.Khalilov
*''
Crambe hispanica''
L.
*''
Crambe juncea''
M.Bieb.
*''
Crambe kilimandscharica''
O.E.Schulz
*''
Crambe koktebelica''
(Junge) N.Busch
*''
Crambe kralikii''
Coss.
*''
Crambe laevigata''
DC. ex Christ
*''
Crambe maritima
''Crambe maritima'', common name sea kale, seakale or crambe, is a species of halophytic (salt-tolerant) flowering plant in the genus '' Crambe'' of the family Brassicaceae. It grows wild along the coasts of mainland Europe and the British Is ...
''
L.
*''
Crambe microcarpa''
A.Santos
*''
Crambe orientalis''
L.
*''
Crambe pinnatifida''
W.T.Aiton
*''
Crambe pritzelii''
Bolle
*''
Crambe scaberrima''
Webb ex Bramwell
*''
Crambe schugnana''
Korsh.
*''
Crambe scoparia''
Svent.
*''
Crambe sinuatodentata''
Hochst. & G.W.Schimp.
*''
Crambe steveniana''
Rupr.
*''
Crambe strigosa''
L'Hér.
*''
Crambe sventenii''
Pett. ex Bramwell & Sunding
*''
Crambe tamadabensis''
Prina & Marrero Rodr.
*''
Crambe tatarica''
Sebeók
*''
Crambe × tchalenkoae''
Popovich & Zernov
*''
Crambe wildpretii''
Prina & Bramwell
References
External links
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae genera
{{Brassicales-stub