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The mustard family is widely represented in western Washington with representatives from at least 23 genera, many of which have only a single species in our area but others of which have 6-7 species in our flora. Flowers of the Brassicaceae are usually easy to recognize: 4 sepals and 4 petals (which form a cross, giving the family its alternative name, Cruciferae), usually 6 stamens (of which the outer 2 are shorter than the inner 4), and 2 fused carpels. The petals are most often white or yellow, but can be red or blue-purple. The fruits are also characteristic: the two fused carpels remain divided by a septum to which the seeds are attached around the margin. The elongated form of this fruit type is called a silique; the short disk-like form is called a silicle. Leaves are simple, mostly alternate and have no stipules. Leaf shape varies, but are often lyrate (pinnately lobed with the distal lobes the largest). The Brassicaceae of western Washington are mostly cool season bloomers with many species behaving as winter or blooming very early in the spring.

(Click on a picture to see more about that species)

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Arabidopsis thaliana	Capsella bursa-pastoris	Cardamine oligosperma	Draba verna
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Lunaria annua	Sisymbrium officinale	Teesdalia nudicaulis	.