Flora of North America species comparison

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Thysanocarpus

Thysanocarpus curvipes

fringe-pod, lacepod

common fringe pod, lace-pod, sand fringe-pod, sand lacepod
Habit Annuals; not scapose; (glaucous), glabrous or pubescent.
Stems

erect, unbranched or branched distally.

1–6(–8) dm.
Leaves

basal and cauline;

petiolate or sessile;

basal (often withered by anthesis or fruiting), not or, rarely, rosulate, shortly petiolate, blade margins subentire, dentate, pinnatifid, or pinnatisect [rarely entire];

cauline sessile, blade (base usually auriculate), margins entire, dentate, or pinnatifid to pinnatisect.

Basal leaves

blade oblanceolate to obovate, 1–6(–13) cm, margins subentire to sinuate-dentate, surfaces often hirsute, sometimes glabrous, (trichomes white, 0.3–0.6 mm).
Cauline leaves

blade lanceolate, widest at base, base auriculate-clasping, auricles extending around stem (at least some leaves).
Racemes

(corymbose, several-flowered), considerably elongated in fruit.

internodes 3–6(–9) mm in fruit.
Flowers

sepals ascending, oblong to ovate, lateral pair not saccate basally;

petals white to purplish, spatulate to oblong, (subequaling or longer than sepals), claw not differentiated from blade;

stamens slightly tetradynamous;

filaments slightly dilated basally;

anthers ovate;

nectary glands each side of lateral stamen or semi-annular, median glands absent.

Fruiting pedicels

often recurved, sometimes divaricate-ascending, slender.

smoothly recurved, (proximal) 3–7(–12) mm.
Fruits

(pendulous), sessile, cymbiform, orbicular, obovate [ovate, elliptic], smooth, strongly latiseptate;

valves each with prominent midvein, glabrous or pubescent;

replum entire or crenate, often perforated, (winged, wing flattened, with radiating rays);

septum obsolete;

ovule 1 per ovary;

style distinct (relatively short) or obsolete;

stigma entire.

flat or plano-convex, obovate to nearly orbicular, [3–6(–9) mm wide];

valves pubescent or glabrous, trichomes clavate and 0.2–0.4 mm, or pointed and ± 0.2 mm;

wing entire, perforate, or incised, rays absent or distinct, (0–)0.2–0.5 mm wide.
Seeds

aseriate, flattened, not winged, elliptical to orbicular;

seed coat not mucilaginous when wetted;

cotyledons accumbent.

Thysanocarpus

Thysanocarpus curvipes
Phenology Flowering Feb–Jun.
Habitat Rocky slopes, washes, oak woodlands, streamsides, meadows, sometimes serpentine soils
Elevation 150-2000 m (500-6600 ft)
Distribution
from USDA
w North America; nw Mexico
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; BC; Mexico (Baja California, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 5 (4 in the flora).

Thysanocarpus erectus S. Watson occurs in northwestern Mexico on Cedros and Guadalupe islands and on the mainland of Baja California.

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

Thysanocarpus curvipes is the most widespread and variable species in the genus. Variants have been named as varieties or species, but they grade into each other imperceptibly. Notable among these are var. elegans, a form with incised or perforate fruit wings, and var. eradiatus, a form with rayless, entire wings. Some of these may be the result of hybridization with other taxa. For instance, var. elegans has large fruits and occurs in the vicinity of T. radians, the largest-fruited member of the genus. Furthermore, fruits of var. elegans often have pointed hairs like those usually found on fruits of T. radians; such hairs are not found on fruits of any other members of the genus. Thysanocarpus curvipes includes both diploid and tetraploid populations (M. D. Windham, unpubl.), but these do not appear to segregate into recognizable groups. Although the variation in T. curvipes is considerable, its great complexity prevents recognition of infraspecific taxa at this time.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Fruits cymbiform, wings strongly incurved (toward flat side of fruit); raceme internodes ca. 0.7-1.5(-2) mm in fruit.
T. conchuliferus
1. Fruits flat or plano-convex, wings not strongly incurved; raceme internodes (1.5-)2-18 mm in fruit
→ 2
2. Fruiting pedicels weakly ascending, straight or nearly so (geniculately reflexed apically), 7-18 mm; fruits 7-10 mm wide, wings with distinct rays ± 0.1 mm wide.
T. radians
2. Fruiting pedicels smoothly recurved or straight and stiffly spreading, 2-7(-12) mm; fruits 2.5-6(-9) mm wide, wings with indistinct rays or (0-)0.2-0.5 mm wide
→ 3
3. Cauline leaf blades lanceolate, widest at base, bases auriculate-clasping, auricles extending around stems (at least some leaves); basal leaf blade margins subentire to sinuate-dentate, never pinnatifid, surfaces often hirsute, sometimes glabrous.
T. curvipes
3. Cauline leaf blades linear to narrowly elliptic, widest near middle or equally wide throughout, bases not auriculate or inconspicuous auricles not extending around stems; basal leaf blade margins pinnatifid, sinuate-dentate, or subentire, surfaces usually glabrous, rarely sparsely hirsute.
T. laciniatus
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 739. Authors: Patrick J. Alexander, Michael D. Windham. FNA vol. 7, p. 740.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Thelypodieae Brassicaceae > tribe Thelypodieae > Thysanocarpus
Sibling taxa
T. conchuliferus, T. laciniatus, T. radians
Subordinate taxa
T. conchuliferus, T. curvipes, T. laciniatus, T. radians
Synonyms T. amplectens, T. curvipes var. cognatus, T. curvipes var. elegans, T. curvipes var. emarginatus, T. curvipes var. eradiatus, T. curvipes var. involutus, T. curvipes var. longistylus, T. curvipes subsp. madocarpus, T. curvipes var. pulchellus, T. emarginatus, T. filipes, T. foliosus, T. hirtellus, T. laciniatus var. emarginatus, T. pulchellus, T. trichocarpus
Name authority Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 69, plate 18, fig. A. (1830) Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 69, plate 18, fig. A. (1830)
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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