Arabis glabra (Tower mustard)

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Arabis glabra (L.) Bernh.

Tower mustard

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Brassicales	Mustard, cabbage, caper, papaya, nasturtiums, many others; most produce mustard oil
Family	Brassicaceae	Mustards, cabbages
Genus	Arabis	Greek for “mustard” or “cress”
Species	glabra

About plant names...

The aptly named tower mustard is a widespread North American native plant.

Identification: I first noticed these in the late summer—tall, rigid clusters of dead sticks, lacking flowers or seeds or leaves. The "sticks" are actually seedpods. Tower mustard begins with a rosette of gray leaves, and in the second year, it produces a flowering stalk up to about 3½' (1 m) high. A few nondescript leaves alternate along the stalk, which may branch at the top into slender shoots. Small, four-petaled, cream-colored flowers, each about ¼" (6.3 mm) in size, cover some of the shoots. The shoots are siliques, narrow, rounded seedpods that look more like stems than seedpods.

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

Calflora

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

CalPhotos

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

The University of Massachusetts Landscape, Nursery & Urban Forestry Program

The University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium