''Streptanthus longirostris'' is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
in the family
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older but equally valid) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important Family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous pla ...
,
[ which is known by the common name longbeak streptanthella,][ It grows in many types of habitat, including deserts, sagebrush, ]foothill woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coastal ...
s, sandy flats, chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...
, and scrubby canyons.
It is an annual herb producing a slender, erect, multibranched stem up to half a meter tall. The lower leaves are lance-shaped with a toothed or smooth edge and leaves higher on the plant are narrower, linear in shape, and less often toothed. The top of the stem is occupied by a long inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
which is an open raceme
A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, 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 ...
of many flowers. The top of the inflorescence bears the newest buds which are often purple in color. More mature flowers stud the stem at intervals below, each on a short pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
. Flowers measure under a centimeter long. Each flower is enclosed in four thick 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
Etymology
The term ''sepalum'' ...
s. At the tip are the spoon-shaped petals which are white to yellow with purple veining. The fruit is a long, dangling 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 ...
up to 7 centimeters in length containing flat, winged seeds.
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentFlora of North AmericaWashington Burke MuseumPhoto gallery
longirostris
Flora of the Western United States
Flora of Northwestern Mexico
Plants described in 1871
{{Brassicales-stub