Lepidium oblongum is a widespread North American species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name veiny pepperweed. It is native to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and the western and south-central United States (from California and Oregon east as far as Mississippi).Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution mapSEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapterDavidse, G., M. Sousa Sánchez, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera. 2015. Saururaceae a Zygophyllaceae. 2(3): v–xvii, 1–347. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera (eds.) Flora Mesoamericana Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F.García-Mendoza, A. J. & J. A. Meave. 2011. Diversidad Florística de Oaxaca: de Musgos a Angispermas 1–351. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria It is present as an introduced species in Hawaii. It can grow in many types of habitats.Hitchcock, C. L. 1945. The Mexican, Central American, and West Indian Lepidia. Madroño 8(4): 118–143.
Description Lepidium oblongum is an annual herb with a small, branching stem up to 20 or 30 centimeters (8-12 inches) long and coated with hairs. The well-spaced leaves are divided into narrow lobes. The inflorescence is a raceme of tiny flowers made up just of sepals; there is occasionally a vestigial petal mixed in. The flowers yield fruits which are notched capsules 2 or 3 millimeters long. Flowers bloom March to August. There are two varieties of this plant; one, var. insulare, is known only from coastal California and Baja California.Flora of North America, Lepidium oblongum Small, 1903. It grows in pastures, prairies, floodplains, roadsides, and alluvial terraces.
References
External links Jepson Manual Treatment Calphotos Photo gallery, University of California photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Puebla in 1097