Lepidium dictyotum
Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 7: 329. 1868.
Annuals; hirsute. Stems few to several from base, erect to ascending, or (outer ones) decumbent, unbranched, (0.15–)0.3–1.3(–2.1) dm. Basal leaves (soon withered); not rosulate; petiole 0.5–2 cm; blade pinnatifid to pinnatisect (lobes linear to narrowly oblong), (1.5–)2.2–5.7(–7) cm × (0.5–)1–2(–3) mm, margins entire. Cauline leaves sessile; blade usually linear, rarely with linear lobes, 1–5 cm × 0.5–2 mm, base attenuate, not auriculate, margins entire. Racemes elongated, (dense) in fruit; rachis hirsute, trichomes straight, cylindrical. Fruiting pedicels erect to slightly ascending, straight and appressed to rachis or distally slightly recurved, (strongly flattened), (1.6–)1.9–2.5(–3) × 0.4–0.8 mm (width proximal to apex), usually hirsute or, rarely, only adaxially. Flowers: sepals oblong to ovate, 0.7–1.1 × 0.2–0.6 mm; petals absent; stamens 4, median; filaments 0.5–1 mm; anthers ca. 0.1 mm. Fruits ovate, 2.5–3.5 × 2–2.8 mm, apically winged, apical notch (closed, often U-shaped), 0.5–0.7(–0.8) mm deep; valves thin, smooth, strongly reticulate-veined, usually hirsute, rarely glabrous; style absent or obsolete, included in apical notch. Seeds ovate, 1.2–1.8 × 0.8–1.2 mm.
Phenology: Flowering Mar–Jun.
Habitat: Margins of playas, saline areas, meadows, gypsum hills, dried pools, alkaline and clay flats and sinks, near hot springs, roadsides, borders of springs and ponds, sandy flats
Elevation: 0-1600 m
Distribution
Calif., Idaho, Nev., Oreg., Utah, Wash., Mexico (Baja California).
Discussion
Selected References
None.