12.
Descurainia sophia
(Linnaeus) Webb ex Prantl in H. G. A. Engler and K. Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 55(III,2): 192. 1891.
Flixweed, tansy mustard
Sisymbrium sophia
Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 659. 1753;
Hesperis sophia
(Linnaeus) Kuntze;
S. parviflorum
Lamarck;
Sophia parviflora
(Lamarck) Standley
Annuals;
eglandular; sparsely to densely pubescent, sometimes glabrous distally, trichomes dendritic.
Stems
erect, un-branched or branched distally, (1-)2-7(-10) dm.
Basal leaves:
petiole 0.1-2(-3) cm; blade 2- or 3-pinnate, ovate or oblong to obovate in outline, to 15 cm, lateral lobes linear or oblong, (to 10 × 2 mm), margins entire.
Cauline leaves
sessile or shortly petiolate; blade smaller distally, distal lobes often narrower, surfaces often glabrous.
Racemes
considerably elongated in fruit.
Fruiting pedicels
divaricate to ascending, straight, (5-) 8-15(-20) mm.
Flowers:
sepals erect to ascending, yellowish, oblong, 1.8-2.8 mm, glabrate to sparsely pubescent; petals narrowly oblanceolate, 2-3 × 0.4-0.6 mm; median filaments 2-3 mm; anthers 0.3-0.4 mm.
Fruits
divaricate-ascending to erect, narrowly linear, torulose, (12-)15-27(-30) × 0.5-0.8(-1) mm, (straight or curved upward); valves each with distinct midvein; septum with a broad central longitudinal band appearing as 2 or 3 veins; ovules 20-48 per ovary; style obsolete, 0.05-0.2 mm, glabrous.
Seeds
uniseriate, reddish brown, oblong, 0.7-1.3 × 0.3-0.6 mm.
2
n
= 28.
Flowering Mar-Jul. Roadsides, waste places, disturbed sites, railroad embankments, hillsides, mountain slopes, canyon bottoms, stream banks, fields, lawns, pastures, deserts, sagebrush and pinyon-juniper communities; 0-3000 m; introduced; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.W.T., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon; Alaska, Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., D.C., Ga., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.H., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., N.Dak., Okla., Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo.; Eurasia; introduced also in Mexico, Central America, South America, South Africa, Australia.
Deviant chromosome counts (e.g., 2
n
= 12, 14, 20, 38; see R. C. Rollins 1993, N. H. Holmgren 2005b, S. I. Warwick and I. A. Al-Shehbaz 2006) are most certainly erroneous, and the species appears to be exclusively tetraploid based on
x
= 7.
SELECTED REFERENCE Best, K. F. 1977. The biology of Canadian weeds. 22.
Descurainia sophia
(L.) Webb. Canad. J. Pl. Sci. 57: 499-507.
