Moricandia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Orthokaryota
Cladus: Neokaryota
Cladus: Photokaryota
Cladus: Diaphoretickes
Cladus: CAM
Regnum*: Archaeplastida
Regnum: Plantae
Regnum*: Viridiplantae
Cladus: Streptophyta
Cladus: Phragmoplastophyta
Cladus: Embryophyta
Cladus: Polysporangiophyta
Divisio*: Tracheophyta
Cladus: Eutracheophyta
Cladus: Euphyllophytina
Cladus: Megaphylla
Cladus: Radiatopses
Cladus: Lignophyta
Cladus: Metalignophyta
Diviso*: Spermatophyta
Classis*: Angiospermae
Cladus: Mesangiospermae
Cladus: Eudicota
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids II
Ordo: Brassicales

Familia: Brassicaceae
Subfamilia: Brassicoideae
Tribus: Brassiceae
Genus: Moricandia
Species: M. arvensis – M. foetida – M. moricandioides – M. nitens – M. rytidocarpoides – M. sinaica – M. spinosa – M. suffruticosa
Name

Moricandia DC. Syst. Nat. 2: 626 (1821).

Type species: Moricandia arvensis DC., Syst. Nat. 2: 626 (1821).

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Oudneya R.Br., Narr. Travels Africa, App. XXII: 220 (1826).
Moricanda St.-Lag., Ann. Soc. Bot. Lyon 8: 173 (1881), orth. var.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Southwestern Europe
Baleares, Corse, France (introduced), Portugal, Sardegna (introduced), Spain.
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Greece, Italy, Sicilia (Malta, Sicily), Yugoslavia (Bosnia-Hercegovina (doubtfully present), Croatia).
Continental: Africa
Regional: Northern Africa
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia.
Regional: Macaronesia
Canary Islands (introduced).
Regional: West Tropical Africa
Mauritania.
Regional: Northeast Tropical Africa
Chad, Somalia.
Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Western Asia
Iran, Palestine, Sinai.
Regional: Arabian Peninsula
Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen.
Regional: Eastern Asia
Japan (introduced).
Continental: Asia-Tropical
Regional: Indian Subcontinent
Pakistan.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

De Candolle, A.P. 1821. Regni Vegetabilis Systema Naturale, sive Ordines, Genera et Species Plantarum Secundum Methodi Naturalis Normas Digestarum et Descriptarum. Volumen Secundum. 745 pp. Treuttel & Würtz, Paris. BHL Biblioteca Digital Reference page.

Additional references

Warwick, S.I., Francis, A. & Al-Shehbaz, I.A. 2006. Brassicaceae: species checklist and database on CD-Rom. Plant Systematics and Evolution 259(2–4): 249–258. DOI: 10.1007/s00606-006-0422-0 ResearchGate Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2023. Moricandia in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2023 Dec. 3. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2023. Moricandia. Published online. Accessed: Feb. 8 2023. Reference page.
Koch, M.A. et al. 2017. Moricandia in BrassiBase Tools and biological resources to study characters and traits in the Brassicaceae. Published online. Accessed: 2017 Feb. 8.
Tropicos.org 2017. Moricandia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 8 Feb. 2017.
Hassler, M. 2025. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. (Moricandia). Moricandia (Brassicaceae). Accessed: 5 Mar 2025.
Euro+Med 2006 onwards: Moricandia in Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published online. Accessed: 2025 Mar 5.

Moricandia arvensis

Moricandia is a genus of plants of the family Brassicaceae. This genus is mainly distributed in North Africa, the Middle East, and Southern Europe. It is associated with arid and semi-arid environments. Flowers of this genus are actinomorphic-dissymmetrical and mostly lilac in color, although they vary from white to purple depending on the species and climatic conditions. Some species show extreme phenotypic plasticity for flower size, shape, and color.[1] The fruits are two-valved dehiscent siliques with one or two sets of seeds per valve.[2]

Moricandia shows high variability in the morphological characters used for identification, making this genus's taxonomy complex and, many times, controversial.[3] Eight species with a variable number of synonymies and subspecies are actually accepted.[4] Moricandia arvensis also known as purple mistress is the most widely distributed species of this genus. Moricandia moricandioides commonly known as violet cabbage, a native of the Mediterranean, is cultivated as a garden flower.

Some species of this genus perform C2 photosynthesis,[5] making them interesting in the engineering of C2 crops.[6]
Species

Moricandia arvensis (L.) DC.
Moricandia foetida Bourg. ex Coss.
Moricandia moricandioides (Boiss.) Heywood
Moricandia nitens (Viv.) Durieu & Barr
Moricandia rytidocarpoides Lorite, Perfectti, Gómez, González-Megías & Abdelaziz[7]
Moricandia sinaica Boiss.
Moricandia spinosa Pomel.
Moricandia suffruticosa (Desf.) Coss. & Durieu

Previously considered a Moricandia species, M. foleyi Batt. is now ascribed to the genus Eruca as Eruca foleyi based in phylogenetic analyses[8]
References

Gómez, JM.; Perfectti, F.; Armas, C.; Narbona, E.; González-Megías, A.; Navarro, L.; DeSoto, L.; Torices, R. (2020). "Within-individual phenotypic plasticity in flowers fosters pollination niche shift". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 4019. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.4019G. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-17875-1. PMC 7419554. PMID 32782255. S2CID 221108247.
Gupta, S. K. (2016). Biology and breeding of crucifers. Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-8608-9.
Jiménez, J. F.; Sánchez-Gómez, P. (2011). "Molecular taxonomy and genetic diversity of Moricandia moricandioides subsp. pseudofoetida compared to wild relatives". Plant Biosystems. 146 (1): 99–105. doi:10.1080/11263504.2011.579191. S2CID 84630593. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
"Kew Royal Botanical Garden". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
Schlüter, Urte; Bräutigam, Andrea; Gowik, Udo; Melzer, Michael; Christin, Pascal-Antoine; Kurz, Samantha; Mettler-Altmann, Tabea; Weber, Andreas PM (January 2017). "Photosynthesis in C 3 –C 4 intermediate Moricandia species". Journal of Experimental Botany. 68 (2): 191–206. doi:10.1093/jxb/erw391. PMC 5853546. PMID 28110276.
Adwy, W; Laxa, M; Peterhansel, C (December 2015). "A simple mechanism for the establishment of C₂-specific gene expression in Brassicaceae". The Plant Journal. 84 (6): 1231–8. doi:10.1111/tpj.13084. PMID 26603271.
"Moricandia rytidocarpoides Lorite, Perfectti, J.M.Gómez, Gonz.-Megías & Abdelaziz". GBIF—the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Perfectti, F.; Gómez, J.M.; González-Megías, A.; Abdelaziz, A.; Lorite, J. (2017). "Molecular phylogeny and evolutionary history of Moricandia DC (Brassicaceae)". PeerJ. 5: e3964. doi:10.7717/peerj.3964. PMC 5661452. PMID 29093999.