Burke: Sisymbrium officinale

	Sisymbrium officinale
	hedge mustard
Habit	Annual herb, the stem simple or loosely-branched, 3-8 dm. tall, strongly pubescent with spreading, stiff, pungent hairs.
Leaves	Basal leaves lyrate-pinnatifid, petiolate, up to 2 dm. long, the terminal lobe ovate, with shallow, rounded lobes; cauline leaves alternate, sessile, much reduced, pinnatifid with 4-6 linear to narrowly-lanceolate lobes, the terminal lobe deltoid-lanceolate.
Flowers	Inflorescence of bractless racemes, often elongate to 3.5 dm. in fruit; pedicles erect, stout, 2-3 mm. long, enlarged at the tip to the thickness of the silique; sepals 4, oblong-oblanceolate, 2 mm. long; petals 4, pale yellow, 3-4 mm. long; stamens 6; style lacking, stigma 2-lobed.
Fruits	Siliques erect, tightly appressed, 8-15 mm. long, terete, linear but tapering to a beak-like tip; valves 3-nerved; seeds in 1 series.

	Sisymbrium officinale
Flowering time	March-September
Habitat	Waste ground and other disturbed areas at low elevations.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced from Europe
Conservation status	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	S. altissimum, S. linifolium, S. loeselii, S. orientale
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Sisymbrium officinale

hedge mustard

Habit

Annual herb, the stem simple or loosely-branched, 3-8 dm. tall, strongly pubescent with spreading, stiff, pungent hairs.

Leaves

Basal leaves lyrate-pinnatifid, petiolate, up to 2 dm. long, the terminal lobe ovate, with shallow, rounded lobes;

cauline leaves alternate, sessile, much reduced, pinnatifid with 4-6 linear to narrowly-lanceolate lobes, the terminal lobe deltoid-lanceolate.

Flowers

Inflorescence of bractless racemes, often elongate to 3.5 dm. in fruit; pedicles erect, stout, 2-3 mm. long, enlarged at the tip to the thickness of the silique;

sepals 4, oblong-oblanceolate, 2 mm. long;

petals 4, pale yellow, 3-4 mm. long;

stamens 6;

style lacking, stigma 2-lobed.

Fruits

Siliques erect, tightly appressed, 8-15 mm. long, terete, linear but tapering to a beak-like tip;

valves 3-nerved;

seeds in 1 series.