Leaves generally basal and cauline, alternate, generally simple; stipules 0
Inflorescence: generally raceme
Flower bisexual; sepals 4, free; petals (0)4, free, generally white or yellow, often clawed; stamens generally (2,4)6, generally 4 long, 2 short; ovary 1, superior, chambers generally 2, septum membranous, connecting 2 parietal placentas, style 1, stigma simple or 2-lobed
Fruit: generally capsule ("silique") with 2 deciduous valves, sometimes breaking transversely or indehiscent
Seeds 1–many per chamber
Genera in family: 300+ genera, 3000+ species: worldwide, especially cool regions; some cultivated for food (especially Brassica, Raphanus ) and ornamental
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to include Capparaceae [Rodman et al. 1993 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 80:686–699; Rollins 1993 Cruciferae of Continental North America. Stanford Univ Press]
Family description, key to genera by Robert A. Price.
LEPIDIUM
PEPPERGRASS, PEPPERWORT
Annual to shrub; hairs 0 or simple
Leaves: basal not rosetted, generally petioled, entire to pinnately lobed; cauline short-petioled to sessile, sometimes clasping or surrounding stem
Flower small; sepals erect or spreading, oblong to ovate, shed early or persistent; petals linear to obovate, generally white, rarely yellowish, sometimes bristle-like or 0; stamens 6, 4, or 2
Fruit dehiscent, oblong to elliptic or obcordate, flat perpendicular to septum; pedicel cylindric or flat, winged or not
Seeds 1 per chamber, gelatinous when wetted; wing narrow or 0; embryonic root at back of 1 cotyledon, rarely at edges of both
Species in genus: ± 175 species: ± worldwide
Etymology: (Greek: little scale, from fruit)
Reference: [Hitchcock 1936 Madroño 3:265–300]
| Native |
L. strictum (S. Watson) Rattan
Annual, prostrate; hairs spreading, simple, pointed
Stem branched from base, 5–20 cm
Leaves: basal, lower cauline 1–2-pinnately lobed or divided, 3–7 cm, 1–2 cm wide, segments generally oblanceolate or oblong; upper cauline generally lobed to ± entire
Inflorescence many, crowded
Flower: sepals 1–1.5 mm, persistent in fruit; petals 0 or vestigial; stamens 2
Fruit 2.5–3.5 mm, 2–3 mm wide, ovate to oblong-ovate, glabrous or sparsely ciliate; veins prominent, netted; valve tips ascending, generally winged, generally rounded; notch open, ± 0.4 mm; pedicel < fruit, ± 2 X wider than thick; style 0
Chromosomes: 2n=±32
Ecology: Uncommon. Disturbed sites, generally urban
Elevation: < 300 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province, Great Basin Floristic Province
Distribution outside California: to Oregon, Colorado
Flowering time: Mar–May
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