Thelypodium crispum
Encyclopedia
Thelypodium crispum is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family
known by the common name crisped thelypody. It is native to the mountains and plateaus of Nevada
and eastern California
, where it grows in areas with mineral-rich and alkaline soils
, such as the margins of hot spring
s. It is an annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herb producing an erect, branching stem to a maximum height anywhere between 10 centimeters and 1.2 meters. The thick, waxy basal leaves are usually divided into lobes, and leaves higher on the plant are usually simple and have bases that clasp the stem. The inflorescence
is a dense, spikelike raceme
of many white, greenish, or lavender flowers with very crinkly petals. The fruit is a cylindrical silique
1 to 2.5 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 crisped thelypody. It is native to the mountains and plateaus of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and eastern 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 in areas with mineral-rich and 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...
, such as the margins of hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s. It is an annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herb producing an erect, branching stem to a maximum height anywhere between 10 centimeters and 1.2 meters. The thick, waxy basal leaves are usually divided into lobes, and leaves higher on the plant are usually simple and have bases that clasp 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 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 white, greenish, or lavender flowers with very 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 2.5 centimeters long with several seeds inside.