''Camelina'' 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 nom ...

within the

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 words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

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 leav ...

. The ''Camelina'' species, commonly known as false flax, are native to

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

regions of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. Most species of this genus have been little studied, with the exception of ''

Camelina sativa ''Camelina sativa'' is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae and is usually known in English as camelina, gold-of-pleasure, or false flax, also occasionally wild flax, linseed dodder, German sesame, and Siberian oilseed. It is native to E ...

'', historically cultivated as an

oil plant Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fa ...

Heinrich Johann Nepomuk von Crantz Heinrich Johann Nepomuk von Crantz (Roodt-sur-Eisch, Luxembourg, 25 November 1722 – 18 January 1799, Judenburg, Austria) was a botanist and a physician. In 1750 he obtained his doctorate of medicine in Vienna, where he was a pupil of Gerard van ...

was the first botanist to use the genus ''Camelina'' in his classification works in 1762. As a way to reduce fossil fuel emissions, the US Navy tested a 50-50 mix of jet aviation fuel and biofuel derived from camelina seeds in 2010. A study published in December 2016 explained that the current low price of conventional

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

-based jet fuel makes it cost-prohibitive for commercial airlines to use camelina-based jet fuel. The study said substantial government intervention would be one way to create a market for camelina, by combining 9 percent government subsidy on camelina crop production, with 9 percent tax on the conventional fuel.

Etymology

The name ''Camelina'' comes from the Greek for "ground" and "flax", alluding to its being a weed which suppresses the vigour of flax crops.

Description

Camelina plants are

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

herbs. Their leaves are

simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by Johnn ...

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

to narrowly

elliptic In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in ...

. The flowers are

hermaphroditic In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have s ...

actinomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spirall ...

, grouped in

racemes 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 ...

, and yellowish colored. The seeds are formed in dehiscent siliques.

Genetics

The first full genome sequence for ''Camelina sativa'' was released on August 1, 2013, by a Canadian research team. The genome sequence and its annotation are available in a genome viewer format and enabled for sequence searching and alignment. Technical details of Camelina's genome sequence were published on April 23, 2014 in the academic journal ''

Nature Communications ''Nature Communications'' is a peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio since 2010. It is a multidisciplinary journal and it covers the natural sciences, including physics, chemistry, earth sciences, medici ...

''. Rothamsted Institute in the UK developed genetically modified ''Camelina sativa'' plants that accumulate in their seeds high levels of the longer chain omega-3 oils EPA and DHA, commonly found in fish oils. These plants could provide terrestrial sustainable sources of longer chain omega-3 fatty acids and have benefits for human health and the environment. Field trials were underway in 2016.

Species

Four common species are presented below. However, at least two databanks indicate more species may exist. * ''

Camelina alyssum ''Camelina alyssum'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Brassicaceae. Its native range is Europe to Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Arme ...

'' * ''

Camelina microcarpa ''Camelina microcarpa'' is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by several common names, including littlepod false flax lesser gold-of-pleasure and small seed false flax. It is native to Europe and Asia, and it is common acros ...

'' * ' * ''

Biodiesel

Biodiesel made from camelina has a variety of benefits. First, traditional petroleum or diesel fuel is not renewable resources, the production of these resources is finite. Camelina biodiesel, however, is a renewable resource. Camelina based aviation fuel could save 84% of carbon emissions. Camelina biodiesel can be produced in large quantities as feedstocks are enough. Moreover, camelina biodiesel can reduce the country's dependence on fossil resources, which can ensure the country's energy security. In addition, camelina biodiesel is an environmentally friendly fuel, and it is biodegradable. Besides, the development of the camelina biodiesel industry can bring employment opportunities. The government has given the industry strong support since camelina biodiesel has a variety of benefits. Therefore, camelina biodiesel has policy support. What's more, the development of the camelina biodiesel industry has brought great economic benefits. According to the investigation, the

greenhouse gas emission Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...

of camelina biodiesel produced by

no-till farming No-till farming (also known as zero tillage or direct drilling) is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage. No-till farming decreases the amount of soil erosion tillage causes in certai ...

is lower than that of traditional methods.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q163520 Biodiesel feedstock sources Brassicaceae genera Brassicaceae