Stenophragma pumilum Celak.
Annual, (3-) 10-30 (-45) cm tall, erect or suberect, simple or sparsely branched from the base, usually pubescent with short, branched, somewhat rigid hairs. Basal leaves rosulate or not, often many, obovate-oblong, usually coarsely toothed, sometimes subentire, (10-) 30-50 (-80) mm long, 8-35 mm broad, shortly stalked or subsessile; upper leaves usually few, rarely 0 or many, oblong, sessile, usually sagittate-amplexicaul, 10-50 mm long, 3-10 mm broad, toothed to almost entire. Racemes (15-) 25-50- flowered, up to 20 cm long in fruit. Flowers 2-2.5 mm across, yellow; often turning pale or somewhat whitish when dried; pedicels 5-10 mm long in fruit, filiform, ascending. Sepals 1.5-2 mm long. Petals 2-3 mm long, 1 mm broad. Stamens 1.5: 2 mm long; anthers c. 0.3 mm long. Siliquae linear, subcompressed, often upcurved, (8-) 15-25 mm long, 1-1.5 mm broad, usually scabrous with short, branched hairs, rarely subglabrous; valves 1-veined, submembranous; style less than 1 mm long with depressed, subretuse stigma; septum not veined; seeds usually 15-35 in each locule, c. 1 mm long.
Fl. Per.: March-June.
Type: N. Iran, Stephan?.
Distribution: E. Mediterranean region to Pakistan, Kashmir and C. Asia.
The only yellow flowered species, in our area, with wide range of distribution and very variable in habit and leaves. Microsisymbrium griffithianum (Boiss.) Schulz (in Engler, l.c. 161; Sisymbrium griffithianum Boiss.; Arabidopsis griffithiana (Boiss.) N. Busch, in obs.), a white or pinkish flowered species (?) with similar habit but with deflexed fruits on c. 3-4 mm long pedicels, has been considered conspecific with this species by Hedge (in Rech. f., l.c. ). I have the following specimen from Baluchistan, which can be placed under it but is in fruits only. The plant seems to be more strict, rigid and erect, siliquae deflexed, more cylindrical and with somewhat rigid valves. However, it appears to be closely related to A. pumila and should he given a varietal rank under it as follows:
