262 BRASSICACEAE 



14. Lepidium lasiocarpum Nutt. Hairy-pod Pepper-grass. Fig. 1984. 



Lepidium lasiocarpum Nutt. in Torr. & Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 115. 1838. 



Lepidium ruderale var. lasiocarpum Engelm. in A. Gray, Smiths. Contr. 5: IS. 18S3. 



Lepidium georginum Rydb. Bull. Torrey Club 30: 253. 1903. 



Annual, hirsute throughout, the stems branching from the base, decumbent, 10-25 cm. long. 

 Lower leaves incised or pinnately parted, the segments usually broad, obtuse or rounded, entire 

 or sparingly toothed, the upper merely toothed ; racemes numerous ; pedicels strongly flattened, 

 horizontally spreading, 3 mm. long; sepals broadly oblong, purple with a thin white margin; 

 petals minute or none; pods suborbicular, 3 mm. long, thin-margined near the summit, hispid- 

 pubescent on both faces, rarely glabrous. 



Sandy soils, Sonoran Zones; coastal and desert regions of southern California to Colorado, Texas, and 

 northern Mexico. Type locality: near Santa Barbara, California. March-June. 



15. Lepidium nitidum Nutt. Shining Pepper-grass. Fig. 1985. 



Lepidium nitidum Nutt. in Torr. & Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 116. 1838. 

 Lepidium nitidum var. insigne Greene, Fl. Fran. 274. 1891. 



Annual, glabrous or sparingly pubescent, the stems erect or somewhat spreading, 5-30 cm. 

 high, branching from near the base, the branches mostly simple. Lower leaves deeply pinnatifid, 

 with attenuate segments, the upper often entire; racemes one to several; pedicels strongly flat- 

 tened, rather loosely flowered; petals white, exceeding the sepals; pods suborbicular, 3-4 mm. 

 long, narrowly thin-margined, abruptly notched at the apex, smooth and shining, convex on the 

 lower surface, nearly flat or concave on the upper, often purple. 



Grassy hills, valleys and plains, Upper Sonoran Zone; very common in California, and extending from 

 Washington to Lower California. Type locality: near Santa Barbara, California. Feb-May. 



Lepidium nitidum var. Howellii C. L. Hitchcock, Madrono 3: 293. 1936. Stems densely short-pubescent; 

 pods usually with minute-pubescent margins. Western portion of Mojave Desert, California. Type locality: 

 near Mojave. 



16. Lepidium bipinnatifidum Desv. Wayside Pepper-grass. Fig. 1986. 



Lepidium bipinnatifidum Desv. Journ. Bot. 3: 165. 1814. 



Lepidium Menziesii Brewer & Wats. Bot. Calif. 1: 46. 1876. Not DC. 



Puberulent or glabrate annual, the stems leafy, much branched from the base, decumbent 

 or prostrate, often closely matting the ground. Leaves pinnatifid or the lowest bipinnatifid ; 

 racemes numerous, dense, rather short and narrow ; petals none ; pedicels flattened, 1-2 mm. long, 

 ascending; pods orbicular, 2-5 mm. in diameter, glabrous, faintly reticulated, the teeth short 

 and obtuse. 



In hard beaten soil of waysides, naturalized from South America; rather common in California, less so 

 in Oregon and Washington. Jan.-June. 



17. Lepidium latipes Hook. Dwarf Pepper-grass. Fig. 1987. 



Lepidium latipes Hook. Ic. PI. 1 : pi. 41. 1837. 



Annual, pubescent or somewhat hirsute, the stems stout, branched from the base, procum- 

 bent or erect, 3-7 cm. long. Leaves 5-10 cm. long, linear, entire or with a few linear segments ; 

 racemes very dense, 15-40 mm. long; pedicels strongly flattened; petals greenish, 2 mm. long, 

 exceeding the sepals; pods broadly oval, 5-6 mm. long, strongly reticulated, glabrous or spar- 

 ingly pubescent, winged at the apex, with two broad erect teeth nearly as long as the body, the 

 sinus between the teeth very narrow. 



Alkaline fiats, or balsas, Sonoran Zones; California, from the Sacramento Valley and North Coast Range 

 valleys, to San Diego County. Type locality: Monterey, California. March-June. 



18. Lepidium dictyotum A. Gray. Alkali Pepper-grass. Fig. 1988. 



Lepidium dictyotum A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. 7: 329. 1867. 



Annual, pubescent or hirsutulous, the stems branching from the base, decumbent or at length 

 ascending, 5-20 cm. long. Leaves narrowly linear, tapering at both ends, 20-25 mm. long, 2-4 

 mm. wide, entire or with a few narrow segments or teeth near the middle ; racemes rather dense ; 

 pedicels flattened, ascending; petals usually none, when present little exceeding the sepals, white; 

 pods elliptic-ovate, 3-4 mm. long, finely reticulate, pubescent or glabrous, with short obtuse 

 wings or teeth at the summit, the sinus narrow. 



Alkaline soils, Sonoran Zones; Washington and Idaho to southern California. Type locality: Steamboat 

 Springs, Nevada. March-June. 



19. Lepidium oxycarpum Torr. & Gray. Sharp-podded Pepper-grass. Fig. 1989. 



Lepidium oxycarpum Torr. & Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 116. 1838. 

 Lepidium oxycarpum var. strictum S. Wats. Bot. Calif. 1: 46. 1876. 



Annual, hirsutulous, the stems very slender, branched from the base, the branches 10-15 cm. 

 long, erect or ascending, floriferous more than half their length. Leaves linear, entire or with a 

 few linear acute segments ; pedicels very slender, flattened, widely spreading ; sepals very un- 

 equal, early deciduous; petals none; stamens 2; pods suborbicular, 2.5 mm. long, glabrate, 

 finely reticulate, tipped with 2 very short acute widely divergent teeth. 



Border of salt marshes, or in alkaline soils, Sonoran Zones; San Francis:o Bay region, California. Type 

 locality: first collected by Douglas, somewhere in the coastal region of California. March-May. 



