Lepidium densiflorum
Lepidium oxycarpum
baby-seed pepper-weed, common pepper-grass, common pepper-weed, elongate peppergrass, hairy-fruit peppergrass, large-fruit peppergrass, miner's pepper-weed, prairie pepper-grass, prairie pepperweed
fork pepper-grass, fork pepperweed, fork pepperwort, sharp pod pepper grass, sharp-fruit pepperweed, sharpfruit pepperwort
simple from base, erect, branched distally, (1–)2.5–5(–6.5) dm.
several from base, usually erect to ascending, rarely decumbent, branched, 0.4–1.5(–2) dm.
(early withered); rosulate;
petiole 0.5–1.5(–2) cm;
blade oblanceolate, spatulate, or oblong, (1.5–)2.5–8(–11) cm × 5–10(–20) mm, margins coarsely serrate or pinnatifid.
(soon withered);
not rosulate;
petiole 0.5–1.5(–2) cm;
blade margins entire or pinnatifid (lobes 2–5 pairs, linear to filiform), 1.5–5 cm × 0.5–2 mm.
shortly petiolate;
blade narrowly oblanceolate or linear, (0.7–)1.3–6.2(–8) cm × (0.5–)1.5–10(–18) mm, base attenuate to cuneate, not auriculate, margins usually entire or irregularly serrate to dentate, rarely pinnatifid.
petiolate;
blade linear, 0.1–0.3 cm × 0.5–2 mm, base attenuate, not auriculate, margins entire.
considerably elongated in fruit;
rachis puberulent, trichomes straight, slender to subclavate.
considerably elongated, (lax) in fruit;
rachis glabrous or puberulent, trichomes straight, cylindrical.
sepals oblong, 0.5–0.8(–1) × 0.3–0.5 mm;
petals (absent or rudimentary) white, filiform, 0.3–0.9 mm, claw absent;
stamens 2, median;
filaments 0.6–1(–1.8) mm;
anthers 0.1–0.2 mm.
sepals oblong, 0.6–0.8 × 0.4–0.5 mm;
petals absent;
stamens 4, median;
filaments 0.6–0.7;
anthers ca. 0.1 mm.
divaricate-ascending to horizontal, straight or slightly recurved, (terete), (1.5–)2–3.5(–4) × 0.15–0.25 mm, puberulent adaxially.
divaricate to horizontal or descending, usually recurved, rarely straight, (terete or slightly flattened), 2–4(–6) × 0.2–0.3 mm, glabrous or puberulent adaxially.
obovate to obovate-suborbicular, (2–)2.5–3(–3.5) × 1.5–2.5(–3) mm (widest beyond middle), apically winged, apical notch 0.2–0.4 mm deep;
valves thin, smooth, not veined, glabrous or sparsely puberulent (at least on margin);
style 0.1–0.2 mm, included in apical notch.
ovate, 2.4–3.6 × 1.8–2.5 mm, apically winged, apical notch (V-shaped), 0.3–0.8 mm deep;
valves thin, smooth, strongly reticulate-veined, glabrous;
style obsolete or to 0.1 mm, included in apical notch.
ovate, 1.1–1.3(–1.5) × 0.8–0.9 mm.
oblong, 1.4–1.8 × 0.8–0.9 mm.
= 32.
Lepidium densiflorum
Lepidium oxycarpum
North American records of Lepidium apetalum Willdenow mostly represent misidentifications of L. densiflorum. The latter has obovate fruits widest beyond the middle, whereas L. apetalum has elliptic fruits widest at the middle.
The number and limits of the varieties recognized in Lepidium densiflorum, as well as the characters used to delimit them, vary among authors (A. Thellung 1906; C. L. Hitchcock 1936; G. A. Mulligan 1961; R. C. Rollins 1993; N. H. Holmgren 2005b). The variation almost always does not correlate with geography, and the recognition of varieties in this species is neither practical nor very useful. All of those authors admitted that these varieties are “very weak at best” (Rollins, p. 554). Of them, perhaps var. pubicarpum (including var. elongatum) might merit recognition. It is distributed in almost all of the Mountain and Pacific states and is distinguished from the other varieties solely by the presence of trichomes or minute papillae on the fruit valves. The density of these trichomes ranges from moderate and covering the entire valve surface to very sparse and represented by individual papillate trichomes restricted to the valve margin. Furthermore, the length of these trichomes may vary from ca. 0.01 to 0.3 mm. In some species (e.g., L. dictyotum) both glabrous- and pubescent-fruited forms occur, yet none of the above authors gave formal recognition to both forms. It is not known if both glabrous and puberulent fruits occur within the same population in L. densiflorum. The species is autogamous, but nothing is known about the rates of gene flow between and within populations.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Lepidium oxycarpum apparently did not persist in British Columbia following its introduction there over 110 years ago (G. A. Mulligan 2002b). That record is based on Macoun s.n. (GH, MO, NY, US), which was collected on 31 May 1893 from the vicinity of Victoria, Vancouver Island.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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- Local floras: BC, CA, WA
- Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria
- WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
