Descriptive Flora 



87 



with minute two to three-pronged hairs (use magnifying glass). 

 Leaves simple, alternate. Blades linear to lanceolate, entire or 

 sparingly toothed, one to six inches long. Flowers about %" 

 across, in rounded clusters 2 to 3" across, at the end of an ever 

 lengthening stem. Petals four, orange-yellow, about y<£ long, 

 narrowed into claws at the base. Stamens six, four long, two 

 short. Pod four-angled, narrow, slender, three to four inches 

 long. True to the old English name, the San Antonio Wallflower 

 likes to find foothold on high walls and ledges. March and April. 



Brassica alba (L.) Boiss. Mustard. "Mostaza" 



Coarse weeds with grooved stems and rounded clusters of 

 sulphur-yellow, 4-petaled flowers. Leaves simple, alternate, 

 rough-veiny, one main vein at base. Blades frequently cut to 

 the midrib, the lobes nearest the base small, the terminal large 

 and broad. Petals 4. Calyx lobes narrow, the margins rolled 

 back. Stamens six, 4 long, 2 short. Pods hairy, stout-beaked, 

 erect or ascending, y 2 to %" long, constricted between the seeds, 

 and forming up the stems as the flowers mature. 



Brassica juncea (L.) Cosson. Indian Mustard. 



Similar to Brassica alba but plant is glabrous (not hairy), 

 pedicels slender (not stout), petals fully twice as long as the 

 sepals, pods smooth (never hairy), slender, the beak 1/3 to % as 

 long as the body. Found in oat patches and roadsides near 

 cultivated fields. 



Draba cuneifolia Nutt. Whitlow Grass. Draba. 



Timid little white-flowered annuals blooming first of the 

 season. Leaves simple, alternate. Blades mostly wedge-shaped, 

 few-toothed or entire, y 2 to 1" long, 3-veined at base. Flowers 

 small, white, in a flat-topped cluster at the end of the stem, re- 

 sembling Sweet Alyssum. As the stem grows, the flowers con- 

 tinue to blossom and gradually become flat, oblong pods less than 

 one-half inch in length. Flowers constructed on the plan of all 

 mustards. Petals 4, notched, small, white. Stamens 6. In low 



