Cusickiella

Rollins

J. Jap. Bot. 63: 68. 1988.

Etymology: For William C. Cusick, 1842–1922, Oregon plant collector
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 7. Treatment on page 412. Mentioned on page 236, 238, 240, 413.
 TaxonIllustrator 
FNA7 P49 Cusickiella douglasii.jpegCusickiella douglasii
Nevada holmgrenii
Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides
Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey
Barbara Alongi
Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey

Perennials; (cespitose or pulvinate, taprooted, caudex much-branched, woody, with persistent leaf remains); scapose or subscapose; glabrous or pubescent, trichomes simple, often mixed with stalked, forked, or subdendritic ones. Stems erect, unbranched. Leaves basal and sometimes cauline; sessile; basal (terminating caudex branches, thickened at base, persistent, erect), rosulate, blade margins entire; cauline (absent or few as bracts), blade (base not auriculate), margins entire. Racemes (corymbose, proximal flowers sometimes bracteate), elongated in fruit. Fruiting pedicels divaricate or ascending, slender. Flowers: sepals (erect to ascending), oblong; petals white or yellowish, spatulate or oblanceolate, (slightly longer than sepals, base attenuate to short claw); stamens slightly tetradynamous; filaments dilated basally; anthers ovate; nectar glands: lateral annular, median glands confluent with lateral. Fruits sessile or minutely stipitate, ovoid or ellipsoid, not torulose, terete or 4-angled, (thick and leathery); valves each with prominent or obscure midvein, (sometimes keeled), puberulent or glabrous; replum rounded; septum complete; ovules 4 per ovary; stigma capitate. Seeds aseriate, plump, not winged, ovoid to oblong; seed-coat (smooth), not mucilaginous when wetted; cotyledons incumbent or obliquely so.

Distribution

w United States

Discussion

Species 2 (2 in the flora).

Species of Cusickiella superficially resemble those of Draba, but the two genera are clearly unrelated. Cusickiella is easily distinguished from Draba by having incumbent cotyledons and four seeds per fruit, whereas Draba has accumbent cotyledons and more seeds per fruit.

Selected References

None.

Key

1 Racemes ebracteate; fruit valves rounded on back, each with obscure midvein; leaf blades (0.3-)0.5-1.2(-1.4) cm, trichomes on surfaces not setiform; petals white. Cusickiella douglasii
1 Racemes bracteate basally; fruit valves keeled on back, each with prominent midvein; leaf blades 0.2-0.5 cm, trichomes on surfaces setiform; petals pale yellow. Cusickiella quadricostata

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

... more about "Cusickiella"
Ihsan A. Al-Shehbaz +
Rollins +
appendaged +  and unappendaged +
not +  and auriculate +
dissected +, repand +, sinuate +, crenate +  and dentate +
much smaller +  and reduced +
urceolate +, campanulate +  and tubular +
branched +  and simple +
sessile +, subsessile +  and petiolate +
well-developed +
indistinct +
not +  and differentiated +
emarginate +  and entire +
incumbent +  and accumbent +
obliquely +  and incumbent +
w United States +
straight +  and curved +
For William C. Cusick, 1842–1922, Oregon plant collector +
not winged +  and unappendaged +
connate +  and distinct +
actinomorphic +
stipitate +  and sessile +
4-angled +, terete +, not torulose +, ellipsoid +  and ovoid +
alternate +, not +  and rosulate +
cauline +  and basal +
connate +  and distinct +
decurrent +
pinnatifid +
obscure +  and prominent +
tenuinucellate +, crassinucellate +  and bitegmic +
campylotropous +  and anatropous +
yellowish +  and white +
rudimentary +
oblanceolate +  and spatulate +
trinucleate +  and 3(-11)-colpate +
J. Jap. Bot. +
slender +
mucilaginous +
not +  and mucilaginous +
white +, black +, brown +  and yellow +
ovoid +  and oblong +
persistent +  and caducous +
distinct +
spreading +, ascending +  and erect +
reduced +
latiseptate +, schizocarpic +, samaroid +  and lomentaceous +
indehiscent +  and dehiscent +
angustiseptate +, flat +, angled +, terete +, torulose +, not +, segmented +  and nutletlike +
tetradynamous +
procumbent +  and decumbent +
subsessile +, sessile +  and petiolate +
persistent +
distinct +
Cruciferae +
Cusickiella +
Brassicaceae tribe Boechereae +
coiled +, 1-7-veined +  and veined +
glabrous +  and puberulent +
anastomosing +
subscapose +  and scapose +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
rhizomatous +, taprooted +, scapose +  and not +
perennial +, biennial +  and annual +
subshrub +  and herb +
aquatics +  and terrestrial +
glabrous +  and pubescent +