Thysanocarpus curvipes
Encyclopedia
Thysanocarpus curvipes is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family
known by the common names sand fringepod and lacepod. It is native to western North America from British Columbia
through the western United States to Baja California
, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a common plant in much of its range. It is variable in appearance. It is an annual herb producing a branching or unbranched stem 10 to 80 centimeters tall. The leaves are mostly lance-shaped but variable. The lower ones are sometimes borne on petioles
and the upper ones may clasp the stem at their bases. They may be smooth-edged, toothed, or lobed. The inflorescence
is a raceme
of flowers with four white or purple-tinged petals and purple sepal
s. The fruit is a flattened, rounded or oval disclike capsule with a thin wing around the edge. The fruit is under a centimeter long and the wing is variable in appearance, flat or wavy, sometimes perforated.
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 names sand fringepod and lacepod. It is native to western North America from British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
through the western United States to Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a common plant in much of its range. It is variable in appearance. It is an annual herb producing a branching or unbranched stem 10 to 80 centimeters tall. The leaves are mostly lance-shaped but variable. The lower ones are sometimes borne on petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
and the upper ones may clasp the stem at their bases. They may be smooth-edged, toothed, or lobed. 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 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 flowers with four white or purple-tinged petals and purple sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s. The fruit is a flattened, rounded or oval disclike capsule with a thin wing around the edge. The fruit is under a centimeter long and the wing is variable in appearance, flat or wavy, sometimes perforated.