Lepidium oxycarpum
Lepidium ramosissimum
fork pepper-grass, fork pepperweed, fork pepperwort, sharp pod pepper grass, sharp-fruit pepperweed, sharpfruit pepperwort
branch pepper-grass, clasping-leaf pepper-grass, dull peppergrass, manybranch pepperweed
several from base, usually erect to ascending, rarely decumbent, branched, 0.4–1.5(–2) dm.
simple from base, erect, branched (several) distally, (0.6–)1–5.3(–7.7) dm.
(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.
(soon withered);
not rosulate;
petiole 1–4 cm;
blade oblanceolate or pinnatifid, 2–5 cm × 8–15 mm, margins (of lobes) entire serrate or dentate.
petiolate;
blade linear, 0.1–0.3 cm × 0.5–2 mm, base attenuate, not auriculate, margins entire.
shortly petiolate or sessile;
blade oblanceolate or (distal) linear, (0.6–)1.2–4.8(–6) cm × 1–8(–10) mm, base attenuate to cuneate, not auriculate, margins dentate, (distal) entire, or, rarely, lobed.
considerably elongated, (lax) in fruit;
rachis glabrous or puberulent, trichomes straight, cylindrical.
slightly elongated in fruit;
rachis puberulent, trichomes curved, cylindrical to subclavate.
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.
sepals oblong, 0.6–0.9(–1.1) × 0.3–0.4 mm;
petals (absent or rudimentary), white, linear, 0.2–0.8(–1) × 0.05–0.1 mm, claw absent;
stamens 2, median;
filaments 0.6–0.9 mm;
anthers 0.15–0.2 mm.
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.
divaricate-ascending to horizontal, straight or recurved, (terete), (1.6–)2–3.8(–5) × 0.2–0.3 mm, usually puberulent adaxially, rarely throughout.
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.
elliptic, 2.2–3.2 × 1.7–2.1mm, apically winged, apical notch 0.1–0.3(–0.4) mm deep;
valves thin, smooth, not veined, glabrous or puberulent at least along margin;
style usually obsolete, rarely to 0.1 mm, included in apical notch.
oblong, 1.4–1.8 × 0.8–0.9 mm.
oblong, 1.2–1.6 × 0.8–0.9 mm.
= 32, 64.
Lepidium oxycarpum
Lepidium ramosissimum
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.)
As noted by R. C. Rollins (1993, p. 581), the varieties of Lepidium ramosissimum are “weak at best.” They are based largely on the branching habit and, most importantly, on the presence versus absence of trichomes on the fruit valve. In some collections (e.g., Scoggan 4233, GH; Boivin et al., 13221, GH), both puberulent- and glabrous-fruited forms occur. It is almost certain that the same situation exists not only in other populations of this species, but in other North American Lepidium. It is also clear that some populations might consist entirely of one of the two forms, but it is highly unlikely that this variation has any geographical basis. Therefore, we believe that the separation of varieties solely on the basis of presence or absence of the fruit trichomes is taxonomically meaningless.
We are reluctantly including Lepidium divergens in the synonymy of L. ramosissimum because we have not seen its type; the topotypes that we studied have broadly obovate to suborbicular fruits that appear more at home in the L. densiflorum or L. virginicum complexes.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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