Caulanthus anceps
Encyclopedia
Caulanthus anceps is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family
known by the common name Lemmon's mustard. It is endemic to California
, where it grows on open slopes and plains in the Central Coast Ranges and adjacent Central Valley. It can generally be found in areas with alkaline soils
. This annual herb produces an erect, waxy-textured stem with lance-shaped leaves borne on petioles
. The inflorescence
is a raceme
of many fragrant flowers each with four pink-veined lavender petals. The fruit is a long silique
up to 7 centimeters in length.
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
known by the common name Lemmon's mustard. It is endemic to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it grows on open slopes and plains in the Central Coast Ranges and adjacent Central Valley. It can generally be found in areas with alkaline soils
Alkali soils
Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH , a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico-chemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate...
. This annual herb produces an erect, waxy-textured stem with lance-shaped leaves borne on petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of many fragrant flowers each with four pink-veined lavender petals. The fruit is a long silique
Silique
A silique or siliqua is a fruit of 2 fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. The outer walls of the ovary usually separate when ripe, leaving a persistent partition...
up to 7 centimeters in length.