Flora of North America species comparison

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Descurainia longepedicellata

Descurainia torulosa

mountain tansymustard, narrow tansymustard, sticky tansymustard, western tansy-mustard
Habit Annuals; usually eglandular, rarely glandular; moderately to sparsely pubescent, often glabrous distally, not canescent, trichomes dendritic. Perennials; (short-lived); eglandular; moderately to densely pubescent throughout, trichomes dendritic.
Stems

erect, unbranched or branched proximally, often branched distally, (1.5–)3–6.2(–8.5) dm.

(several to numerous from base), decumbent, usually unbranched, rarely branched distally, 0.4–1.5 dm.
Basal leaves

petiole 0.4–3.5 cm;

blade pinnate, ovate to oblanceolate in outline, 1.5–7 cm, lateral lobes linear or oblong, margins entire or dentate to incised.

petiole 0.3–1.4 cm;

blade pinnate, oblanceolate in outline, 0.9–3.5 cm, lateral lobes (3–5 pairs), oblanceolate to oblong, (2–5 × 0.5–1.5 mm), margins entire.
Cauline leaves

sessile or shortly petiolate;

blade smaller distally, lobes linear to filiform, margins entire, surfaces usually glabrous, rarely pubescent.

sessile or shortly petiolate;

blade smaller distally, distal lobes often narrower, surfaces moderately pubescent.
Racemes

considerably elongated in fruit.

considerably elongated in fruit.
Flowers

sepals ascending, yellow, oblong, 1.5–2 mm, glabrous;

petals narrowly oblanceolate, 1.7–2.6 cm × 0.5–1 mm;

median filaments 1.5–2 mm;

anthers 0.3–0.4 mm.

sepals ascending, yellowish, oblong, 0.9–1.2 mm, pubescent;

petals narrowly oblanceolate, 1.4–2 × 0.4–0.6 mm;

median filaments 1.6–2 mm;

anthers 0.2–0.3 mm.
Fruiting pedicels

horizontal to divaricate, straight, (8–)10–15(–20) mm.

erect to erect-ascending, straight, 1.5–3 mm.
Fruits

erect, linear, not torulose, (9–)12–17 × 0.8–1.1 mm, (straight or slightly curved inward);

valves each with obscure midvein;

septum not veined;

ovules 18–32 per ovary;

style 0.1–0.2 mm, glabrous.

erect, (subappressed to rachis basally), narrowly linear, strongly torulose, 6–15 × 0.6–0.8 mm, (curved outward distally);

valves each with obscure midvein, (pubescent);

septum not veined;

ovules 10–18 per ovary;

style obsolete, 0.1–0.3 mm, sparsely pubescent.
Seeds

uniseriate, reddish brown, oblong, 1–1.3 × 0.6–0.7 mm.

uniseriate, reddish brown, oblong, 1–1.3 × 0.5–0.6 mm.
2n

= 14.

Descurainia longepedicellata

Descurainia torulosa
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Sandy plains and banks, dry washes, open hillsides, sagebrush and juniper or pine communities, grasslands Rocky slopes at bases of cliffs
Elevation 200-2100 m (700-6900 ft) ca. 3100 m (ca. 10200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
WY
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

L. E. Detling (1939) treated Descurainia longepedicellata as subsp. filipes of D. pinnata, whereas R. C. Rollins (1993) and N. H. Holmgren (2005b) treated it as a subspecies and variety, respectively, of D. incisa. Molecular data, both nuclear and plastidic (B. E. Goodson 2007), place the three taxa in different, well-supported clades.

R. C. Rollins (1993) and N. H. Holmgren (2005b) reported 2n = 28 and 42 for Descurainia longepedicellata (as D. pinnata var. filipes), but these counts are not vouchered. Rollins indicated that the taxon range extends into California and New Mexico; we have not seen material from those states.

Descurainia longepedicellata resembles D. incisa subsp. paysonii in having long fruiting pedicels and linear leaf lobes with entire margins. The latter is easily distinguished by being canescent (versus not canescent) and having fruits strongly curved inward (versus straight). Because the two taxa are not closely related (B. E. Goodson 2007), the similarities in fruiting pedicels and distalmost leaf segments represent convergence.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Of conservation concern.

Descurainia torulosa is known from Fremont, Park, Sweetwater, and Teton counties. It was studied by J. S. Bricker et al. (2000), who concluded that its status and relationship to D. incana remain unresolved as they were unable to find a set of morphological characters that consistently separated the two taxa. We believe that D. torulosa should be maintained, and that it is easily distinguished from D. incana by having fruits strongly torulose (versus weakly or not torulose), pubescent (versus glabrous), and distinctly curved (versus straight) distally, sparsely pubescent (versus glabrous) styles, fruit valves each with obscure (versus distinct) midvein, and stems decumbent, unbranched, and often several (versus stems erect, branched, and simple) from the base.

Descurainia torulosa is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Database of Endangered Plants.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 524. FNA vol. 7, p. 529.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Descurainieae > Descurainia Brassicaceae > tribe Descurainieae > Descurainia
Sibling taxa
D. adenophora, D. brevisiliqua, D. californica, D. incana, D. incisa, D. kenheilii, D. nelsonii, D. obtusa, D. paradisa, D. pinnata, D. sophia, D. sophioides, D. torulosa
D. adenophora, D. brevisiliqua, D. californica, D. incana, D. incisa, D. kenheilii, D. longepedicellata, D. nelsonii, D. obtusa, D. paradisa, D. pinnata, D. sophia, D. sophioides
Synonyms Sisymbrium longepedicellatum, D. brachycarpa var. eglandulosa, D. incisa subsp. filipes, D. incisa var. filipes, D. longepedicellata var. glandulosa, D. pinnata subsp. filipes, D. pinnata var. filipes, D. rydbergii var. eglandulosa, Hesperis longepedicellata, Sisymbrium brachycarpum var. filipes, Sisymbrium incisum var. filipes, Sisymbrium incisum var. xerophilum, Sisymbrium longepedicellatum var. glandulosum, Sophia filipes, Sophia glandifera, Sophia gracilis, Sophia longepedicellata
Name authority (E. Fournier) O. E. Schulz: in H. G. A. Engler, Pflanzenr. 86[IV,105]: 324. (1924) Rollins: J. Arnold Arbor. 64: 499. (1983)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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