Yellow Peppergrass (Lepidium flavum)

3/22/03 Hagen Canyon Nature Trail, Red Rock Canyon State Park, Kern County, CA 

3/22/03 Hagen Canyon Nature Trail

3/24/01 Red Rock Canyon State Park, N. Mojave, Kern County, CA

 4/3/17 Ricardo Campground, Red Rock Canyon State Park, Kern County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Yellow Peppergrass

SPECIES: Lepidium flavum

FAMILY: Brassicaceae (Mustard Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 3/24/2001

LOCATION: Abundant in open areas near campsites and visitor center (not on Desert View Nature Trail), Red Rock Canyon, N. Mojave Desert, Kern County, CA

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Treatment from The Jepson Manual (1993):

Annual, glabrous

Stem prostrate to ascending, 1–4 dm, branched from base

Leaves: basal rosetted, 2–5 cm, oblong-lanceolate to spoon-shaped, margin irregularly to pinnately lobed, lobes ± rounded; cauline often toothed or entire toward tip

Flower: petals 2–3 mm, yellow; stamens 6

Fruit ovate or ± round, ± winged; tip notched; pedicel cylindric or ± flat; style 1–1.5 mm, stigma exceeding fruit

Ecology: Alkaline or sandy soils

Elevation: < 1400 m.  

Bioregional distribution: White and Inyo Mountains, Desert 

Distribution outside California: Nevada, Baja California