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]
| Introduced |
L. campestre (L.) R. Br.
Annual, biennial; hairs dense, spreading
Stem generally 1, erect, branched above, 2–5 dm, leafy
Leaves: basal petioled, 5–7 cm, oblanceolate, entire to lobed; cauline sagittate, upper clasping stem
Flower: sepals ± 1.5 mm, hairy; petals ± 2 mm, narrowly spoon-shaped, white; anthers yellow
Fruit 5–6 mm, ± 4 mm wide, widely oblong to ovate; hairs scale- or sac-like; margins, tips winged; upper surface concave; pedicel spreading, 4–8 mm, slender, ± flat, hairy; style 0.2–0.6 mm, included in to exserted from notch
Chromosomes: 2n=16
Ecology: Common. Waste places, fields, roadsides
Elevation: 900–1900 m.
Bioregional distribution: Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, n Sierra Nevada Foothills, expected elsewhere
Distribution outside California: widespread US; native to Europe
previous taxon | next taxon
Retrieve Jepson Interchange Index to Plant Names entry for Lepidium campestre
Retrieve dichotomous key for Lepidium
Return to treatment index page
Glossary