Moricandia arvensis (L.) DC.
Brassica arvensis L., B. moricandia Boiss.
Eng.: Violet cabbage. Spa.: Collejón, berza. Fre.: Chou des champs. Ara.: Gdem, kromb el djemel, fui el djemel, kronb el khela, bedjira, bedjdjir, zedidj, hem, korrib, krumb al bel. Tam.: Tamazzine, tammadjei, tamadjhé, tamag, afarfar, ichchach, mchach, mchach, aluet, aluad, girgir, ichemine, hamini, dahmim.
Annual or perennial plant that can sometimes be woody at the base and can reach more than 65 cm, with erect, ramose and woody stems, and appearance of a subshrub (reason why it is included in this study). Leaves glabrous, glaucous, often fleshy. Basal leaves obovate, obtuse at the apex, with ± cordate base, and sometimes forming a rosette on the first years; cauline leaves crenate to entire, amplexicaul, with acute or obtuse apex. Flowers in racemes of 10-20 flowers, with straight axes, not flexuous. Sepals linear, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, the lateral sepals clearly gibbous at the base. Petals large, 21-29 mm, light pink or lilac, often faded, rarely whitish. The faded or white colour of the petals seem be related to the level of water or heat stress. Fruits in siliques, long linear, 30-60(100) × 2.3 mm, straight, laterally compressed, erect or erect-patent. Seeds 1.2 × 0.8 mm, biseriate, ellipsoid, flattened, wingless and brown.
Flowering:
February to May, very variable in desert areas, after rainfall in the Sahara.
Fruiting:
1-2 months after flowering.
Habitat:
Mainly on alkaline, chalky or limestone substrates. Sandy and rocky areas.
Distribution:
Western Mediterranean and North Africa.
Observations:
There are 5 described subspecies, which now some authors prefer to consider as species [ISFAN (2011), The Plant List (2012)]. The type subspecies is usually always herbaceous and is represented in the S of Europe. The other 4 microspecies generally have woody stems, at least at the base:
M. spinosa Pomel [M. arvensis subsp. spinosa (Pomel) Batt., M. divaricata Coss.] has semiamplexicaul leaves and spinescent branches and axes of racemes; distributed through the northern Sahara, becoming very common in some areas such as the Mzab.
M. suffruticosa Desf. [M. arvensis subsp. suffruticosa (Desf.) Maire] has amplexicaul leaves and is not spinescent; it is more widely distributed in the Sahara, also occupying the drier areas of the Mediterranean.
M. nitens E.A.Durand & Barratte (Hesperis nitens Viv.) (Ara. Egypt: Fojeila) with small leaves for the genus and very dense, slightly or not amplexicaul, siliques also smaller (30-60 mm long), generally with seeds in a single row, and pale violet flowers; it is distributed in eastern-northern Sahara (Egypt and Libya, from Derna to Tobruk), reaching towards the W to the S of Tunisia, where it is very rare (only located between Mareth and Djorf).
M. sinaica (Boiss.) Boiss. (Ara. Egypt: Khaswet el-gamal) has large succulent leaves (4-10 cm), ovate or suborbicular, and pink flowers, and is distributed in stony valleys of eastern Asia, from the Sinai Peninsula to Pakistan.
Conservation status:
Common species (at least locally). Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.