Thysanocarpus radians
Encyclopedia
Thysanocarpus radians is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family
known by the common name ribbed fringepod. It is native to northern and central California
and Oregon
, where it grows in moist meadows, fields, hillsides, and other habitat. It is an annual herb growing up to 50 or 60 centimeters tall. The leaves are wavy-edged or lobed, the basal ones up to 5 centimeters long and ephemeral, and the upper ones with bases clasping the stem. The inflorescence
is a long, open raceme
of small whitish or purplish flowers. The fruit is a flattened, rounded, disclike capsule which hangs from its pedicel
. It measures up to a centimeter long and is hairless to quite hairy in texture. The flat wing lining the edge of the disc is ribbed with rays like the spoke
s of a wheel, a characteristic making it easily distinguished from other Thysanocarpus when it is in fruit.
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 ribbed fringepod. It is native to northern and central 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 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 moist meadows, fields, hillsides, and other habitat. It is an annual herb growing up to 50 or 60 centimeters tall. The leaves are wavy-edged or lobed, the basal ones up to 5 centimeters long and ephemeral, and the upper ones with bases clasping the stem. 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 long, open 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 small whitish or purplish flowers. The fruit is a flattened, rounded, disclike capsule which hangs from its pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
. It measures up to a centimeter long and is hairless to quite hairy in texture. The flat wing lining the edge of the disc is ribbed with rays like the spoke
Spoke
A spoke is one of some number of rods radiating from the center of a wheel , connecting the hub with the round traction surface....
s of a wheel, a characteristic making it easily distinguished from other Thysanocarpus when it is in fruit.