Lepidium alyssoides |
Lepidium heterophyllum |
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mesa pepperwort |
purple-anther field pepper-weed, purple-anther pepperweed, Smith's pepper-grass, Smith's pepperweed, Smith's pepperwort, variable leaf pepperwort, variable-leaf pepperweed |
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Habit | Perennials or subshrubs; (woody base often aboveground); glabrous or minutely puberulent. | Perennials; (caudex branched); hirsute. |
Stems | few to several from base, erect to ascending, branched throughout, (0.7–)1–4.8(–6.1) dm. |
branched from base, erect to ascending, often decumbent basally, unbranched or branched (few) distally, 1–5 dm. |
Basal leaves | often not rosulate; petiole 1–6 cm; blade pinnately lobed, (1–)1.5–8(–11) cm × (5–)10–35 mm, margins (of lobes) entire or denticulate. |
rosulate; petiole 1–6.2 cm; blade oblanceolate or oblong-elliptic, 1–4.5 cm × 4–14 mm, margins entire, repand, or denticulate. |
Cauline leaves | sessile; blade linear, (0.8–)1.3–7(–9.5) cm × (0.7–)1–2(–3) mm, base attenuate, not auriculate, margins entire. |
sessile; blade oblong to deltate-lanceolate, 1–3.5 cm × 3–8 mm, base sagittate or auriculate, margins dentate to denticulate. |
Racemes | elongated in fruit; rachis puberulent or glabrous. |
much-elongated in fruit; rachis hirsute, trichomes spreading, straight. |
Flowers | sepals ovate to oblong, 1–2 × 0.8–1 mm; petals white, suborbicular, 2–3 × 1–2 mm, claw 0.5–1.5 mm; stamens 6; filaments 1.5–2 mm, (glabrous); anthers 0.2–0.4 mm. |
sepals oblong, 1.6–2.2 × 0.6–1.1 mm; petals white, spatulate, 1.8–2.8 × 0.8–1.4 mm, claw 1–2 mm; stamens 6; filaments 1.8–2.6 mm, (glabrous); anthers 0.4–0.5 mm. |
Fruiting pedicels | divaricate to horizontal, straight or recurved to somewhat sigmoid, (terete), 3.5–8(–11) × 0.2 mm, glabrous or puberulent adaxially. |
horizontal, straight or slightly recurved, (terete), 2.8–5 × 0.3–0.4 mm, hirsute. |
Fruits | broadly ovate, 2–3.7(–4.3) × (1.5–)1.8–2.9(–3.4) mm, apically winged, apical notch 0.1–0.3(–0.4) mm deep; valves thin, smooth, not veined, glabrous; style 0.2–0.6 mm, exserted beyond apical notch. |
broadly oblong to ovate, 4–5.5 × 3.5–4 mm, (curved adaxially), apically broadly winged, apical notch 0.2–0.3 mm deep; valves thin, often not papillate, not veined; style (0.6–)1–1.5 mm, well-exserted beyond apical notch. |
Seeds | ovate, 1.5–1.8(–2) × 0.9–1.2(–1.5) mm. |
(dark brown), ovoid, 1.8–2.2 × 1–1.2 mm. |
2n | = 32. |
= 48. |
Lepidium alyssoides |
Lepidium heterophyllum |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Jul. | Flowering May–Jun. |
Habitat | Pinyon-juniper or sagebrush communities, prairies, grasslands, sandstone outcrops, gypsum flats, sand dunes, dry flats and river bottoms, gravelly roadsides | Gravel mounds, roadsides, abandoned fields, waste grounds, disturbed sites, gardens, hillsides |
Elevation | 1200-2800 m (3900-9200 ft) | 0-300 m (0-1000 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CO; NM; NV; TX; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí)
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CA; CO; MA; ME; NY; OR; PA; WA; BC; NF; Europe [Introduced in North America]
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Discussion | Of the five varieties of Lepidium alyssoides recognized by R. C. Rollins (1993), one (var. mexicanum Rollins) is a short-tufted form of the species restricted to Mexico that does not seem to merit recognition, another (var. junceum) is a glabrescent form of the type variety, a third (var. eastwoodiae) is treated below as a distinct species, and the fourth (var. angustifolium) is included here within L. alyssoides. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The records from Maine and Massachusetts are based on old collections, and it is not known if Lepidium heterophyllum has become established as part of the weedy flora of those states. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 575. | FNA vol. 7, p. 582. |
Parent taxa | Brassicaceae > tribe Lepidieae > Lepidium | Brassicaceae > tribe Lepidieae > Lepidium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | L. alyssoides var. angustifolium, L. alyssoides var. junceum, L. alyssoides var. minus, L. alyssoides var. polycarpum, L. alyssoides var. streptocarpum, L. montanum subsp. alyssoides, L. montanum var. alyssoides, L. montanum subsp. angustifolium, L. montanum var. angustifolium, L. tortum | |
Name authority | A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 10. (1849) | Bentham: Cat. Pl. Pyrénées, 95. (1826) |
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