Brassicaceae Lecture Exam Flashcards
What is the class of compounds contained by many members of this family that serves as a defense compound?
glucosinolates
How did Brassica oleracea cultivars become so morphologically diverse?
Over centuries, seeds were selected from plants that exhibited mutated parts such as: expanded terminal bud (cabbage), axillary buds (brussels sprouts), enlarged flowers (broccoli and cauliflower), expanded stem (kohlrabi)
Where does the name broccoli derive from? What does it tell us about the crop as a food?
It derives from the Italian plural of broccoli which translates to “the flowering crest of cabbage,” which is appropriate, since we eat the large cluster of flowers on a thickened stem
What makes garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolate, so successful as an invasive plant?
It produces an average of 600 seeds per plant, and they can persist in the soil for 5 years.
Also, it contains a crook in the root, which makes it hard to pull.
Why has Arabadopsis, Arabadopsis thaliana, been deemed a most useful weed?
Is widely-used for plant genetics research–the lab rat of the plant world! It has a small size, fast life cycle, self-fertile, and a small genome (only 5 chromosomes, one of the smallest in the plant world!)
What is the link between horseradish and Japanese cuisine?
It is often used as a wasabi replacement in the U.S. for Japanese cuisine.
What are the distinguishing morphological characteristics of the Brassicaceae family?
Generally simple, alternate leaves, beginning as a rosette
Inflorescence in the form of a terminal spike or racaeme.
Individual flowers have 4 reflexed sepals and 4 alternating petals (like a cross) with 2 short stamens and 4 longer “free” stamens
Fruit is in a silique (a pod with seeds in rows divided by a membranous wall). seeds often dehisce explosively
What are glucosinolates and what have they been used for?
They are sulphur-containing secondary metabolites that evolved to protect plants from insect predation and sometimes disease.
Have been used for humans:
-cancer prevention
-leaves for toothaches
-seeds for headache and digestion aid
Used like green manure, but the glucosinolates repress weed growth in organic crop production systems.
What are the characteristics that make some members of this plant family invasive?
They are adaptive to tough conditions, contain glucosinolates, and have explosive seed dehiscence
