Aethionema, Aiton, 1812

Moazzeni, Hamid, Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A., German, Dmitry A., Assadi, Mostafa, Müller, Jochen, Joharchi, Mohammad Reza & Memariani, Farshid, 2018, A taxonomic revision of the genus Aethionema s. l. (Brassicaceae) in Iran, Phytotaxa 356 (4), pp. 241-266 : 248

Key to the species of Aethionema in Iran

1. Shrubs or subshrubs, spiny, densely branched...................................................................................................................................2

- Annual or perennial herbs or subshrubs, not spiny............................................................................................................................3

2. Petal white, cream, light pink, or lilac, 4−5 mm long; fruit indehiscent, winged all around, 1-seeded........................... A. spinosum

- Petal lilac or rose, 6−7 mm long; fruit dehiscent, wingless or narrowly winged apically, 2-seeded ............................. A. erinaceum

3. Annual herbs.......................................................................................................................................................................................4

- Subshrubs or perennial herbs..............................................................................................................................................................5

4. Fruit margin entire; filaments dentate .............................................................................................................................. A. arabicum

- Fruit margin dentate; filaments entire ............................................................................................................................... A. carneum

5. Fruit unilocular, 1-seeded...................................................................................................................................................................6

- Fruit bilocular, 1−4-seeded...............................................................................................................................................................10

6. Plants 3−15 cm tall; leaves 10−20 mm wide......................................................................................................................................7

- Plants> 15 cm tall; leaves 1−5 mm wide...........................................................................................................................................8

7. Filaments with a conspicuous tooth in the upper third; fruit cymbiform.................................................................. A. sabzevaricum

- Filaments entire; fruit not cymbiform .......................................................................................................................... A. umbellatum

8. Subshrubs; fruit oblong-elliptic or orbicular, equally broad all around or broader at apex; locule 3.5–4.5 mm wide ........................ ................................................................................................................................................................................. A. transhyrcanum

- Perennial herbs; fruit oblong-ovate, widest at base; locule 4–5.5 mm wide......................................................................................9

9. Plants with or occasionally without sterile branches from previous years; style included within rudimentary or rather shallow apical fruit notch................................................................................................................................................................ A. virgatum

- Plants without sterile branches from previous years; style exserted from distinct apical fruit notch .................................................. ..................................................................................................................................................................................... A. stenopterum

10. Leaves about as long as wide, if not, at least 4 mm wide.................................................................................................................11

- Leaves distinctly longer than wide, 1–2 mm wide...........................................................................................................................14

11. Plants 3−10 cm tall, fruit entire at margin........................................................................................................................................12

- Plants> 10 cm tall, fruit dentate or fimbriate at margin..................................................................................................................13

12. Filaments winged; fruiting pedicel 2–3 mm, fruit cymbiform..................................................................................... A. semnanense

- Filaments entire; fruiting pedicel 3–4 mm, fruit not cymbiform............................................................................... A. cephalanthum

13. Leaves cordate, deltoid, subamplexicaul; fruit 5−7 mm long, wing dentate.................................................................... A. cordatum

- Leaves ovate-lanceolate, not auriculate; fruit 9−12 mm long, wing deeply fimbriate.................................................. A. fimbriatum

14. Petals pale pink or white, 3.5−5 × ca. 2 mm; fruit 5−7 mm long, margin dentate........................................................ A. diastrophis

- Petals pink, 7−11 × 3.5−4 mm; fruit 7−10 mm long, margin entire or shallowly dentate...............................................................15

15. Infructescene capitate, 1.5−3 cm long, with 8−15 fruit, margin entire .................................................................. A. membranaceum

- Infructescene a lax raceme, at least proximally, 4−12 cm long, with (15−)25−37 fruit; margin shallowly dentate, or sometimes entire............................................................................................................................................................................ A. grandiforum