''Streptanthus diversifolius'' is a species of flowering plant in the

mustard family Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The l ...

known by the common name variableleaf jewelflower, or varied-leaved jewelflower. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, where it is limited to the

Sierra Nevada foothills :''See Sierra Nevada for general information about the mountain range in the United States.'' The ecology of the Sierra Nevada, located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, is diverse and complex: the plants and animals are a significant ...

. It is a resident of woodlands and other foothill habitat. It is an annual herb producing a hairless, waxy stem up to a meter tall. The basal leaves are variable in shape and are often divided into narrow, threadlike segments. Leaves higher on the stem are also variable, having round to lance-shaped blades which clasp the stem at their bases. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem, with one or two leaflike bracts at the base of the

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the sh ...

. Each flower has an urn-shaped calyx of keeled

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s about half a centimeter long and white, yellowish, or purple in color, sometimes with white edging. White, purple-veined petals emerge from the tip. The fruit is a thin, flat, curving

silique A silique or siliqua (plural ''siliques'' or ''siliquae'') is a type of fruit (seed capsule) having two fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. When the length is less than three times the width of the dried fruit ...

which may be 8 or 9 centimeters in length.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
diversifolius Endemic flora of California Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Brassicales-stub