American Yellowrocket - Barbarea orthoceras

 This member of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) with its four-petaled yellow flowers is American yellowrocket (Barbarea orthoceras). It grows in much of western and northern North America.

For more information on American Yellowrocket, click here.

American Yellowrocket- Barbarea othoceras

 The bright yellow flowers of this member of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) is found in wetlands and along streams and is called American yellowrocket (Barbarea othoceras). Another common name is American winter cress. It grows in much of western and northern North America.

For more info about American yellowrocket, click here.

Field Pepperweed-Lepidium campestre

This non-native weed from Europe is field peppeweed (Lepidium campestre), one of the many members of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) that has made its way across the ocean. It now grows in much of North America in disturbed areas.


Flowers are white with four petals.

The leaves are an important distinguishing feature--they clasp the stem.


For more info on field pepperweed, click here.

Tall Tumblemustard - Sisymbrium altissimum

 This four-petaled flower in the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) is attractive right now, but unfortunately it's non-native to North America, where it is widespread. This is tall tumblemustard (Sisymbrium altissimum). Over the summer it dries out and eventually strong winds can snap the plant down and blow it around, further spreading seeds. Of historical interest, it is thought that early railroads helped distribute this species.

It can grow 3-5 feet high, and leaves are deeply divided at the base.

For more info on tall tumblemustard, click here.

Western Tansymustard - Descurainia pinnata

This nonnative mustard, western tansymustard (Descurainia pinnata) likes disturbed areas at all elevations below 10,200 feet. It grows throughout North America.

Click here to get to the USDA Plants Database page for western tansymustard, with links at the bottom of it.

Longbeak Streptanthella - Streptanthella longirostris

 

This neat looking plant in the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) (note the four petals) is longbeak streptanthella (Streptanthella longirostris). The genus name means twisted flower in Greek, while the species name means long-beaked. The seeds become long and pointy.

   The flower is an early bloomer (April-May) and found across the western U.S. It grows at lower elevations, in sagebrush and shadscale shrub areas.

This flower has a close cousin, Streptanthus, also found in the area, but the leaves for it are wider and clasp the stem. Below you can see the narrow leaves of Streptanthella.

For more info on Longbeak Streptanthella, click here.

Shockley's Rockcress - Arabis shockleyi

This is a pretty member of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae), one of the numerous Arabis species. Fortunately, the closely clasping leaves make it rather easy to identify as Shockley's rockcress (Arabis shockleyi). Arabis is undergoing a name change to Boechera, but the USDA Plants Database still has it as Arabis, and for the purposes of this blog, that's my source for official names.


Shockley's rockcress is only found in California, Nevada, and Utah. It grows in pinyon-juniper areas and blooms in April-May.

For more info about Shockley's rockcress, click here.

Wedgeleaf Draba - Draba cuneifolia

When I saw this dainty little flower growing near some rocks on an alluvial fan, I was excited as I knew I hadn't seen it before. The four petals gave me a clue that it was in the mustard family, and it wasn't hard to key out as wedgeleaf draba (Draba cuneifolia).


The basal leaves are quite hairy. Small elliptical seed pods will soon appear. This plant is found throughout much of the U.S.

More info about wedgeleaf draba is found here.

Cusick's Draba-Draba pedicellata ssp. wheelerensis

The genus Draba, part of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) is one tough genus to puzzle out. Fortunately for this one I had the help of a botanist. It's Cusick's draba (Draba pedicellata ssp. wheerensis), only found on the Snake Range in Nevada. There are no leaves above the basal cluster. Another identifying mark are the yellow flowers, but all the specimens we saw were past flowering.

It's a tiny plant that likes growing in crevices.

For more information about Cusick's draba, click here or here.

Western Wallflower-Erysimum capitatum

This fairly common yellow flower with four petals and four sepals is western wallflower (Erysimum capitatum), a member of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae). It grows at a wide variety of elevations.

It can grow from 6 to 36 inches high, and flowers throughout the summer depending on the elevation.

For more information about western wallflower, click here.

Clasping Pepperweed-Lepidium perfoliatum

This unusual looking plant with the clasping leaves is in the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) and is called clasping pepperweed or clasping peppergrass (Lepidium perfoliatum). Unfortunately it's nonnative.

Although most of the leaves on the stem are clasping, the basal leaves and lower stem leaves may be divided. The tiny flowers are yellow.

For more information about clasping pepperweed, click here.

Mountain Pepperweed-Lepidium montanum

This showy little plant was growing on gravel at about 5,000 feet elevation. Upon closer examination I could see that the flowers had four petals, a characteristic of the Mustard Family. This is mountain pepperweed (Lepidium montanum). It's found throughout the western United States.

For more information about mountain pepperweed, click here.

Watercress-Nasturtium officinale

There are a lot of Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) nonnatives, and today we're going to add another one, watercress (Nasturtium officinale). Watercress grows on water, and  in fact requires it--the presence of watercress shows that the water is present year-round. Most of the year only the leaves are present, but right now it is producing some four-petaled flowers.

Watercress is a common food for ducks and deer. It can even be eaten by humans, although due to parasites, you should either disinfect it or eat the watercress you can buy at the grocery store.

For more information about watercress, click here.

Heartleaf Bittercress-Cardamine cordifolia

Growing along stream margins and wet meadows is this one-to-twofoot-tall plant with white flowers. Upon closer inspection you can see that the flowers have four petals, a clue that it's in the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae). The heart-shaped leaves are referred to in both the common and scientific names: Heartleaf Bittercress (Cardamine cordifolia). 

For more information about heartleaf bittercress, click here.

Desert Princesplume-Stanleya pinnata

Desert princesplume (Stanleya pinnata) is one of my favorite desert wildflowers, with the distinctive yellow spikes of flowers seeming so out of place in a location where colors and shapes are often muted. 

It's a member of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae), with flower parts in fours.

One of the neat things about desert princesplume is that there can be buds at the top, flowers in the middle, and seeds at the bottom of the stalk. They can grow to over five feet tall!

They particularly like selenium rich soils, which helps explain why their distribution can be so patchy. It's growing well in a flower box next to my house, and I hope to collect seed and grow more.

For more information about desert princesplume, click here.

Broadleaved Pepperweed-Lepidium latifolium

This pretty white flower is actually a noxious weed, Broadleaved Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium), a member of the Mustard family (Brassicaceae). It's commonly called Tall Whitetop and also broadleaved peppergrass or perennial pepperweed.

It grows two to three feet tall on average and usually prefers wet areas, but can grow about anywhere. Once it becomes established, it takes over an area, outcompeting the native plants. It has robust, spreading roots, and digging or mowing encourages growth from the severed roots. It also produces a prodigious number of seeds, further spreading its extent. 

To learn more about broadleaved pepperweed (tall whitetop) and efforts to control it, click here.

Thickstem Wild Cabbage-Caulanthus crassicaulis

If this wildflower looks slightly similar to one I featured about a week ago, heartleaf twistflower (Steptanthus cordatus), then you're in the right mindset. This is another member of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae), called thickstem wild cabbage (Caulanthus crassicaulis). Quite frankly, I think this is not a good common name--it doesn't look at all like cabbage to me. Other names are thick-stemmed caulanthus, and the much preferred jewelflower. "Caulanthus" means "stem flower" and "crassicaulis" means "thick-stemmed."

The thick green stem, which can grow to three feet tall, is certainly notable, as are the inflated flowers. There are a couple varieties, one hairy, and this one, variety glaber--hairless.

Note the assymetrical flowers. The four sepals form a vase-like projection that hold the four emerging petals. It grows in sagebrush country on rocky soils. Photo taken 5-19-09.

For more information about thickstem wild cabbage, click here.

Heartleaf Twistflower-Streptanthus cordatus

These purple flowers may fool you at first glance, but a closer look will reveal the four petals commonly seen in the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae). Fortunately the clasping heart-shaped leaves and rather large flowers help make this flower relatively simple to identify as Heartleaf Twistflower (Streptanthus cordatus). The genus name is Greek with "Streptos" meaning "twisted" and "anthus" meaning "flower." "Cordatus" is Latin for "heart."

It grows at a range of elevations up to about 11,000 feet on rocky slopes.

For more information about heartleaf twistflower, click here.

Beautiful Rockcress-Arabis pulchra

A lot of early-blooming members of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) are nonnative, but finally we have one that isn't. This is beautiful rockcress, also called beauty rockcress, Prince's rockcress (Arabis pulchra). "Pulchra" is Latin for "beautiful"; "Arabis" means "from Arabia" and is where another member of the genus was first identified.

The plant is slender and blends in with the surrounding landscape. It is generally found below 7,500 feet on gravelly slopes.

The leaves are alternate, with more near the base of the plant.

For more information about beautiful rockcress, click here.

Common Tansymustard-Descurainia sophia

This common weed found in fields and along disturbed areas is Common Tansymustard, also called flixweed and herb sophia (Descurainia sophia), a member of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae).

The yellow flowers have four petals and four sepals. A long narrow, fruit called a silique will form. The entire plant can grow to be up to 3 feet tall, and is found across most of the U.S., despite being native to Europe.

To learn more about common tansymustard, click here.