Lepidium sisymbrioides

Detailed description

Perennial dioecious herb, with up to 15 compact, leafy rosettes. Rootstock deep rooted, up to 20 mm diam. near crown; stems spreading to erect, up to 25 mm long and 6.0 mm wide. Basal and lower stem leaves persistent, pinnatifid, pinnate, to bipinnatifid, narrow-oblong to oblong, up to 120–(190) mm long, green or green-brown, central part of lamina 1.0–3.4 mm wide; pinnae in 6–25 pairs, linear to lanceolate, usually recurved, with 1–6 secondary pinnae, terminal pinnae 7.8–30.0 × 0.9–2.9 mm, lateral pinnae 8.0–28.9 × 0.8–2.7 mm. Middle stem leaves similar, often becoming shallowly pinnatifid, serrate, or entire. Cauline leaves 8.3–25.6 × 1.6–6.2 mm, with up to 8 narrow or small lobes, or entire. Inflorescences terminal, 2–40 cm long, 1.0–5.6 mm diameter at base, usually ascending or erect, sometimes spreading, with up to 12 lateral branches, glabrous to sparsely hairy; pedicels 2.7– 6.4 mm long, 0.25–0.35 mm wide, slightly recurved, adaxial surface glabrous to moderately hairy, abaxial surface glabrous. Flowers up to 4 mm wide. Sepals 0.7–1.0 × 0.6–1.6 mm, green to maroon, glabrous to sparsely hairy, sometimes moderately hairy, margins scarious, apex obtuse. Petals present or absent, when present spreading and clawed, white, limb obovate, apex obtuse to emarginate; males: 1.5–2.2 mm long; females 1.2–1.5 mm long. Female flowers: ovary 1.0–2.7 × 0.8–1.9 mm, ovate, orbicular, to rhomboid, glabrous to sparsely hairy, sometimes moderately hairy; style 0.1–1.1 mm long; stigma 0.2–0.4 mm wide; 4–7 staminodes, 0.6–1.4 mm long. Male flowers: 4–6 stamens, 1.6–3.0 mm long, white; anthers 0.3–0.4 mm long, white or maroon; ovary rudimentary, 0.2–0.9 × 0.3–0.9 mm. Nectaries 0.2–0.6 mm long, oblong, green to green-red. Siliques 3.5–5.0 × 1.9–4.6 mm, usually ovate to rhomboid, sometimes orbicular, suture usually maroon, apex emarginate to retuse, style base often persistent. Seed usually obovate, rarely obovate-oblong, straighter along one margin, compressed but with broad rounded margins, 1.5–2.5 mm long, not winged; both surfaces with a distinct groove from hilum at base towards apex, and the seed folded around it; apex broad and rounded; base cuneate or slightly rounded. Testa dull, orange or orange-brown to dark henna, with a fine reticulum of very thick walled cells.