Thelypodium brachycarpum
Encyclopedia
Thelypodium brachycarpum is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family
known by the common name shortpod thelypody. It is native to parts of northern California
and southern Oregon
, where it grows in several types of habitat, including alkaline
wetlands and serpentine soil
s. It is a rhizomatous
perennial herb growing erect to a maximum height over one meter, the stem sometimes branching. The thick, waxy leaves may be divided into lobes, especially the largest basal leaves, which may reach 20 centimeters long. Leaves higher on the plant may clasp the stem at their bases. The inflorescence
is a dense, spikelike raceme
of many mustardlike flowers with white, crinkly petals. The fruit is a cylindrical silique
1 to 3 centimeters long with several seeds inside.
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 shortpod thelypody. It is native to parts of northern 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...
and southern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, where it grows in several types of habitat, including alkaline
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...
wetlands and serpentine soil
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
s. It is a rhizomatous
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
perennial herb growing erect to a maximum height over one meter, the stem sometimes branching. The thick, waxy leaves may be divided into lobes, especially the largest basal leaves, which may reach 20 centimeters long. Leaves higher on the plant may clasp the stem at their bases. 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 dense, spikelike 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 mustardlike flowers with white, crinkly petals. The fruit is a cylindrical 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...
1 to 3 centimeters long with several seeds inside.