88 CRUCIFERAE 



white, obovatc, Nvitlioul tlisliiict claw. 'Vi line hmir; sliiiii. mis (i. hiil 1 lie 2 shorter mere 

 nulinicnis; jxuls I'ln-ular. with a iiai-row mar^nn, abni])tly nolchcd at apex, IVj 

 to 2 lines loiifi:. plane on the upper I'aee, convex on tlie lower, irlabrous and shining, 

 often dark purple. 



Open plains, valley floors and low hills, 10 to 2200 (or 3000) feet: common 

 everywhere in the eismontane rejjion, occasional in the deserts. North to Washing- 

 ton; south to Lower California. Feb.-Apr. 



Associated species. — While indi\'idual8 of Lepidium nitidura are most commonly associated 

 with plants of other species of the early vernal tlora in open ground (such as Lomatium carui- 

 foliuni, Brodiaea c^ipitata, CapscUa bursa-pastoris, Calandrinia caulescens var. nienziesii, Medi- 

 cago denticnilata, and various species of Lupinus, Amsinckia and Plagiobothrys), sometimes, as 

 on the low hills of the inner North Coast Ranges, this Lepidium may also occur in pure colonies 

 a few yards square, colonies which can be picked out by the eye in grassy fields as spots of color 

 due to the reddish-brown pods. In the South Coast Ranges, especially in the inner range, it is 

 one of the more important and most frequent annuals of the grassland formation, often being one 

 of the dominants and coloring the hills reddish-brown in March. On the plain of the lower Cho- 

 lame Valley it reaches a high development in size and forms a dense and almost pure growth 10 

 to 12 inches high over an area four miles long by two miles wide. Biologically this region may be 

 regarded as the center of its distribution. Over California generally it is the most widely dis- 

 tributed and most common species of its genus, though it is uncommon in and doubtless not 

 indigenous to the desert region. 



Locs. — Humboldt Bay, Tracy 4927; Anderson, BlanMnship (an intcrgrade to var. insigne) ; 

 Marysville, Heller 7562; Sacramento, Francis Eamaley; lone, Jepson 15,208; Round Valley, Men- 

 dociiio Co., WestervKin ; Calistoga, J. T. Howell 1687; Vacaville, Jepson 8219; Santa Rosa, M. S. 

 Baker 714; Novato, Marin Co., Jepson 9061; Mill Valley, Marin Co., Chandler 504; San Pablo 

 Valley, Jepson 9601; Berkeley, Jepson 13,372; Milpitas, B. J. Smith 23; Guadalupe Mine, Santa 

 Clara' Co., Jepson 9090; Corral Hollow, Jepson 9586; An-oyo Mocho, Jepson 10,678; Waverly, 

 San Joaquin Co., J. A. Sanford; Huron, Fresno Co., C. V. Meyer 267; Table Mt., Fresno Co., 

 Jepson 15,112; Grapevine Spr., Tulare Co., Woolsey; Tulare, Davy 3051, 3069; Bitterwater 

 Valley, San Benito Co., Jepson 16,138; upper Waltham Creek, w. Fresno Co., Jepson 16,154; 

 Cholame Valley, e. San Luis Obispo Co., Jepson 16,185; Paso Robles, Barber; Mohave, Heller 

 7760; Saugus, Davy; Los Angeles, Brewer 173; San Bernardino, S. B. 4- W. F. Parish; Temescal 

 Mts., Brewer 152 ; Warner Ranch ; San Felipe ; San Diego. 



Var. insigne Greene. Pods large (3 lines long). — Foothills: inner South Coast Range (Palo 

 Prieto Pass, e. San Luis Obispo Co., Jepson 16,200) ; Tehachapi Range, Feirson 5506. 



Refs. — Lepidium kitidum Nutt.; T. & G. Fl. 1:116 (1838), type loc. Santa Barbara, Nut- 

 iall; Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 227 (1901), ed. 2, 192 (1911), Man. 440, fig. 427 (1925). Var. 

 INSIGNE Greene, Fl. Fr. 274 (1891), type loc. hills e. side Livermore Valley, Greene. 



15. L. latipes Hook. Dwarf Pepper-grass. Stems 1 to several from the 

 base, very thick and stout, 1 to 2 inches long, recurv-^ed-prostrate or rarely erect; 

 herbage slightly pubescent; leaves 3 to 5 inches long, their blades linear and entire, 

 or pinnatifid with few segments, the segments remote, lanceolate or linear, often 

 toothed, 3 to 7 lines long, the rachis ligulate, commonly dilated into a terminal 

 lanceolate lobe; racemes very dense and often capitate, % to li/4 inches long; 

 petals broadly spatulate, greenish, rounded at the apex, 1 line long, exceeding the 

 short sepals; pods broadly oblong or oval, 2V2 to 3 lines long, 2 lines broad, strongly 

 reticulated, sparingly pubescent or glabrous, winged at apex with two broad acute 

 teeth nearly as long as the body, the sinus between the teeth or wings a narrow cleft. 



Alkaline fiats, beds of winter pools or balsas on the plains or in the valleys, 

 10 to 2000 feet: Coast Ranges and Great Valley to coastal Southern California. 

 Mar.-May. 



Locs. — Spruce Grove, Humboldt Co., Tracy 1644; Round Valley, Mendocino Co., Wester- 

 man; Thomas Creek, Sanhedrin Mt., Duran 1452; Willits, Davy Sr Blasdale 5097; Willows, Jep- 

 son 13,368; College City, Alice King; Vacaville, Jepson 13,365; Hass Slough, Solano Co., Jepson 

 13,366; Hass Slough, Jepson 13,369 (a remarkable form with long erect stems 11% inches high) ; 

 Suisun, Jepson 9620 ; Martinez, Brewer 985 ; NortonvUle, Jepson 15,720 ; Donner Canon, Clayton, 

 Jepson 7594; Moraga Valley, Jepson; Bolsa e. of Gilroy, Jepson 6205; Tres Pinos, San Benito 

 Co., Jepson 16,123; Santa Barbara, Brewer; Carpinteria, Brewer 273; San Diego, T. Brandegee. 



Refs. — Lepidium latipes Hook. Ic. PI. t. 41 (1836), tvpe loc. "Monterey," Douglas; Jepson, 

 Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 227 (1901), ed. 2, 193 (1911), Man. 440, fig. 428 (1925). 



