Rorippa curvisiliqua
Encyclopedia
Rorippa curvisiliqua is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family
known by the common name curvepod yellowcress. It is native to western North America from Alaska
to California
to Wyoming
, where it can be found in various types of moist and wet habitat, including lakeshores and riverbanks, meadows, roadsides, and mudflat
s. It is an annual or biennial herb which can be quite variable in appearance. It produces prostrate to erect stems up to half a meter long. The leaves are up to 7 centimeters long and have blades which may be smooth-edged or divided into lobes of varying shapes. The inflorescence
is an elongated raceme
occupying the top portion of the stem containing many tiny yellow flowers just a few millimeters long. The fruit is a silique
which is variable in size and shape but generally contains many minute seeds.
This species has been divided into a number of varieties, but some authorities doubt that this division is valid or useful.
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 curvepod yellowcress. It is native to western North America from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
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...
to Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, where it can be found in various types of moist and wet habitat, including lakeshores and riverbanks, meadows, roadsides, and mudflat
Mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...
s. It is an annual or biennial herb which can be quite variable in appearance. It produces prostrate to erect stems up to half a meter long. The leaves are up to 7 centimeters long and have blades which may be smooth-edged or divided into lobes of varying shapes. 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 an elongated 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...
occupying the top portion of the stem containing many tiny yellow flowers just a few millimeters long. The fruit is a 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...
which is variable in size and shape but generally contains many minute seeds.
This species has been divided into a number of varieties, but some authorities doubt that this division is valid or useful.