FloraFinder.org
Home   About Us   FAQ  
Searching   Image Use Plant Books
x
FloraFinder uses cookies only for correct operation. More info. Okay

Arabis glabra (L.) Bernh.

Tower mustard

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassRosidaeRoses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
OrderBrassicalesMustard, cabbage, caper, papaya, nasturtiums, many others; most produce mustard oil
FamilyBrassicaceaeMustards, cabbages
GenusArabisGreek for “mustard” or “cress”
Speciesglabra

About plant names...

The aptly named tower mustard is a widespread North American native plant.

Identification: I first noticed these in the late summer—tall, rigid clusters of dead sticks, lacking flowers or seeds or leaves. The "sticks" are actually seedpods. Tower mustard begins with a rosette of gray leaves, and in the second year, it produces a flowering stalk up to about 3½′ (1 m) high. A few nondescript leaves alternate along the stalk, which may branch at the top into slender shoots. Small, four-petaled, cream-colored flowers, each about ¼″ (6.3 mm) in size, cover some of the shoots. The shoots are siliques, narrow, rounded seedpods that look more like stems than seedpods.

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

Calflora

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

CalPhotos

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

The University of Massachusetts Landscape, Nursery & Urban Forestry Program

Arabis glabra (tower mustard)

5/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 23 cm)

Arabis glabra (tower mustard)

5/19/2016 · Bemis Road Trails, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (34 × 52 cm)

Arabis glabra (tower mustard)

8/4/2009 · Near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 1½ × 2½′ (53 × 80 cm)

Arabis glabra (L.) Bernh. var. furcatipilis M. Hopkins

Arabis glabra (L.) Bernh. var. glabra

Turritis glabra L.

 

Arabis glabra description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.


 

Arabis glabra (tower mustard)

8/6/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

Arabis glabra (tower mustard)

7/11/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near NH Line, Dunstable, Mass­a­chu­setts

Arabis glabra (tower mustard)

5/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 1 × 2′ (41 × 62 cm)

Arabis glabra (tower mustard)

8/6/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm)

Arabis glabra (tower mustard)

7/21/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (9.2 × 13 cm)

Range:

About this map...