Lepidium dictyotum
Encyclopedia
Lepidium dictyotum is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family
known by the common names alkali pepperweed and alkali pepperwort. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in dry saline and alkaline soils, such as dry lakebeds.
is a mostly erect raceme
of tiny flowers. Each flower is made up of millimeter long sepal
s and occasionally a white petal, although the petals are usually absent. The fruit is a dehiscent
silique
3 or 4 millimeters long divided into two valves, each containing a seed.
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 names alkali pepperweed and alkali pepperwort. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in dry saline and alkaline soils, such as dry lakebeds.
Description
This is a hairy annual herb producing decumbent or spreading stems up to about 20 centimeters long. They are lined sparsely with small leaves divided into fingerlike lobes. The inflorescenceInflorescence
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 mostly erect 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 tiny flowers. Each flower is made up of millimeter long sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s and occasionally a white petal, although the petals are usually absent. The fruit is a dehiscent
Dehiscence (botany)
Dehiscence is the opening, at maturity, in a pre-defined way, of a plant structure, such as a fruit, anther, or sporangium, to release its contents. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that open in this way are said to be dehiscent...
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...
3 or 4 millimeters long divided into two valves, each containing a seed.