Selenia

Nuttall

J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 5: 132, plate 6. 1825.

Etymology: Greek selene, moon, alluding to resemblance to Lunaria
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 7. Treatment on page 506. Mentioned on page 231, 239, 458, 486.
 TaxonIllustrator 
FNA7 P63 Selenia aurea.jpegSelenia aurea
Subularia aquatica
Subularia aquatica subsp. americana
Chorispora tenella
Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey
Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey
Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey
Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey

Annuals (sometimes winter); not scapose; glabrous. Stems (rarely absent, base of plant forming inflated crown), erect, ascending, subdecumbent, or decumbent, unbranched or branched distally. Leaves basal and cauline; petiolate or subsessile; basal rosulate or not, petiolate, blade margins 1- or 2- (or 3-) pinnatisect, (terminal lobe margin entire or dentate); cauline sessile [subsessile], blade (base not auriculate), margins similar to basal. Racemes (sometimes pedicels originating between basal leaves, bracteate throughout, rachis straight), considerably elongated in fruit. Fruiting pedicels divaricate to ascending, slender. Flowers: sepals (sometimes persistent), erect, spreading, or ascending, (yellowish), oblong, oblong-linear or lanceolate, lateral pair slightly saccate basally; petals yellow, spatulate to broadly obovate, claw differentiated from blade, (apex rounded or emarginate [obtuse]); stamens tetradynamous; filaments not dilated basally; anthers linear, ovate, or oblong [sagittate]; nectar glands confluent (extending into spreading teeth). Fruits silicles, sessile or shortly stipitate, usually oblong, elliptical, suborbicular, or globose, rarely obovoid, smooth, latiseptate, terete, or slightly inflated; valves (vesicular in S. grandis, thin-papery to leathery), each without midvein, obscurely to prominently reticulate-veined; replum rounded or flattened; septum complete or perforated; ovules 8–44 per ovary; style distinct, (1–12 mm, sometimes flattened basally); stigma capitate. Seeds biseriate, flattened, winged throughout, orbicular; seed-coat (coarsely reticulate), not mucilaginous when wetted; cotyledons accumbent. x = 7, 12, 13.

Distribution

c, sw United States, ne Mexico

Discussion

Species 5 (4 in the flora).

Species of Selenia might be difficult to separate when the plants are only in flower. Selenia aurea is easily distinguished by its 1-pinnatisect leaves and absence of flowers from the base of the plant. The remaining three species have 2- or 3-pinnatisect leaves and at least some pedicels from the basal rosette. In S. jonesii, the sepal appendage is absent or less than 1 mm; in both S. dissecta and S. grandis, it is 1–4 mm. The last two can be distinguished in flower by the presence in S. grandis of terete styles and ovary margins (replum) and in S. dissecta by flattened style bases and winged ovary margins. Selenia mexicana Standley is endemic to Nuevo León, Mexico.

Key

1 Leaf blade margins 1-pinnatisect; fruiting pedicels from racemes; sepals with unappendaged apex. Selenia aurea
1 Leaf blade margins 2- or 3-pinnatisect; fruiting pedicels (at least some) from basal leaf axils or rosettes; sepals with appendaged apex > 2
2 Fruit valves vesicular, leathery; sepals persistent; fruits 5.5-7.5 mm wide. Selenia grandis
2 Fruit valves not vesicular, papery; sepals caducous or tardily so; fruits 8-17 mm wide > 3
3 Fruits oblong to elliptical, latiseptate; replums and styles flattened; petals (12-)15-20 × (5-)6-9 mm; ovules 28-40 per ovary; median filament pairs 6-10 mm; sepal apex appendage (1-)1.5-3 mm. Selenia dissecta
3 Fruits usually globose, rarely obovoid, terete; replums and styles not flattened; petals 4-7 × 2.5-4 mm; ovules 8-14 per ovary; median filament pairs 3-4 mm; sepal apex appendage 0.5-0.8 mm. Selenia jonesii

"elongated" is not a number."thick" is not a number.

... more about "Selenia"
oblong +, ovate +  and linear +
Ihsan A. Al-Shehbaz +
Nuttall +
not +  and rosulate +
not +  and auriculate +
appendaged +  and unappendaged +
dissected +, repand +, sinuate +, crenate +  and dentate +
much smaller +  and reduced +
urceolate +, campanulate +  and tubular +
branched +  and simple +
well-developed +
distinct +
differentiated +
emarginate +  and entire +
c +, sw United States +  and ne Mexico +
straight +  and curved +
Greek selene, moon, alluding to resemblance to Lunaria +
not winged +  and unappendaged +
connate +  and distinct +
actinomorphic +
ascending +, spreading +  and erect +
lanceolate +, oblong-linear +  and oblong +
latiseptate +  and unsegmented +
angustiseptate +, 4-angled +  and terete +
latiseptate +, stipitate +  and sessile +
inflated +, terete +, obovoid +, globose +, suborbicular +, elliptical +  and oblong +
subsessile +  and petiolate +
alternate +, not +  and rosulate +
cauline +  and basal +
connate +  and distinct +
decurrent +
dentate to pinnately lobed +  and entire +
pinnatifid +
tenuinucellate +, crassinucellate +  and bitegmic +
campylotropous +  and anatropous +
rudimentary +
spatulate +  and broadly obovate +
trinucleate +  and 3(-11)-colpate +
J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia +
slender +
beck2009a +  and martin1940a +
flattened +  and rounded +
mucilaginous +
not +  and mucilaginous +
white +, black +, brown +  and yellow +
orbicular +  and flattened +
persistent +  and caducous +
distinct +
erect +  and spreading or ascending +
perforated +  and complete +
reduced +
latiseptate +  and unsegmented +
angustiseptate +, 4-angled +  and terete +
latiseptate +  and unsegmented +
angustiseptate +, 4-angled +  and terete +
tetradynamous +
branched +  and unbranched +
procumbent +  and decumbent +
ascending +  and erect +
2-lobed +, entire +, conical +  and capitate +
subsessile +, sessile +  and petiolate +
persistent +
distinct +
Cruciferae +
Selenia +
Brassicaceae tribe Cardamineae +
scale-like +  and forked +
reticulate-veined +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
anastomosing +
rhizomatous +, taprooted +, scapose +  and not +
perennial +, biennial +  and annual +
subshrub +  and herb +
aquatics +  and terrestrial +
glabrous +  and pubescent +
13 +, 12 +  and 7 +