Megacarpaea polyandra Benth.

Megacarpaea bifida Bentham, a little-collected and poorly known species endemic to Kashmir, is probably conspecific with (or at most infraspecific under) M. polyandra. It has entire leaf lobes and slightly elongated fruit halves. Megacarpaea polyandra is the only species in the Brassicaceae with flowers having more than six stamens.

The young leaves are cooked as a vegetable.

Perennial, 1-2 m tall, branched, robust herb, glabrous or subhairy; main stem 6-12 cm thick at the base. Basal leaves pinnatisect, 7-9-jugate, 15-30 cm long; lobes 10-20 cm long, 1-5 cm broad, oblong-lanceolate, serrate or sinuatedentate, apex ± acuminate; upper leaves gradually becoming smaller; uppermost lanceolate or linear, entire or sinuate-toothed. Racemes panicled, large, dense, many flowered, up to 20 cm long in fruit. Flowers c. 1 cm across, white or creamy yellow; pedicels up to 20 mm long in fruit. Sepals 5-5.5 mm long, 2-3 mm broad, Petals 4.5-6 mm long, 2-3 mm broad. Stamens 8-16, subequal, 4.5-5 mm long; anthers c. 1.5 mm long. Siliculae large, sub-orbicular, 3-3.5 cm long, 3.5-5 cm broad, bilobed, deeply notched at the apex and slightly at the base; lobes sometimes unequal in size, rarely one lobe abortive; wing about as broad as the locule; seed c. 1 cm in diameter, suborbicular, not winged or margined, brown.

Herbs perennial, (0.5-)1-2 m tall, tomentose above. Root to 15 cm in diam. Trichomes flattened, crisped. Caudex considerably thickened. Stems erect, branched above. Basal and lower cauline leaves oblong or oblanceolate in outline, pinnatisect, 15-60 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; lateral lobes 6-12 on each side, oblong or lanceolate, 6-20 × 1-5 cm, base decurrent, margin serrulate, sinuate-dentate, or subentire, apex acuminate. Upper cauline leaves auriculate, similar to lower ones but gradually reduced in size. Fruiting pedicels slender, 1.5-4 cm, strongly recurved, pubescent. Sepals yellowish, oblong, 3.5-5(-6) × 1.5-2.5 mm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. Petals pale yellow, oblong or obovate, entire, 4-6(-7) × 2-4(-6) mm, base cuneate, apex rounded to subacute; claw 1-2 mm. Stamens (8-)12-16(-24); filaments 3.5-5 mm; anthers narrowly oblong, 1-1.3 mm. Fruit halves suborbicular to obovate-orbicular, 3-4 × 2.5-3 cm; wings 5-10(-18) mm wide; replum 7-16 mm; locule 1.5-2(-2.8) × 1.2-1.7 cm. Seeds brown, broadly ovate, 1.4-1.7 × 0.7-1.1 cm. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Aug-Oct.

Himalaya (Kashlnir to Nepal), W. Tibet.

Distribution: Endemic to Himalayas.

Xizang [India, Kashmir, Nepal, Pakistan].

2700-4500 m

Fl. Per.: May-July.

Slopes, rocky areas, along streams; 3000-4600 m.