3. E. parviflòrum, Nutt. Stem erect, often simple; leaves linear-oblanceolate, entire or the lowest coarsely toothed; flowers small (3´´ long); pods narrow, 1–2½´ long, ascending on short pedicels.—Minn. to Kan. and westward.
15. SISÝMBRIUM, Tourn. Hedge Mustard.
Pod terete, flattish or 4–6-sided, the valves 1–3-nerved; stigma small, entire. Seeds oblong, marginless, in 1 or 2 rows in each cell. Cotyledons incumbent. Calyx open.—Flowers small, white or yellow. Pubescence spreading. (An ancient Greek name for some plant of this family.) Ours are mostly annuals or biennials.
1. S. hùmile, Meyer. Perennial, branching from the base, sparingly pubescent, 6´ high or less; leaves narrowly oblanceolate, mostly coarsely and sharply toothed; flowers white or rose-color; pods very narrow, subterete, 4–9´´ long, ascending on short pedicels, beaked with a short style, seeds 1-ranked. (Arabis petræa, Man., not Lam.)—Willoughby Mountain, Vt.; Canada and westward. (N. Asia.)
2. S. canéscens, Nutt. (Tansy Mustard.) Leaves 2-pinnatifid, often hoary or downy, the divisions small and toothed; flowers yellowish, very small; pods in long racemes, oblong-club-shaped or oblong-linear, shorter than their mostly horizontal pedicels; seeds 2-ranked in each cell.—Penn. and N. Y. to Lake Superior, thence southward and westward. June–Aug.
S. Sóphia, L. A similar hoary species, with decompound leaves; pods slender, 6–15´´ long, ascending; seeds 1-ranked.—Sparingly naturalized from Europe.
S. officinàle, Scop. (Hedge Mustard.) Leaves runcinate; flowers very small, pale yellow; pods awl-shaped, close pressed to the stem, scarcely stalked.—Waste places. May–Sept.—An unsightly branched weed, 2–3° high. (Nat. from Eu.)
S. Thaliàna, Gaud. (Mouse-ear Cress.) Leaves obovate or oblong, entire or barely toothed; flowers white; pods linear, somewhat 4-sided, longer than the slender spreading pedicels.—Old fields and rocks, Mass. to Kan. April, May.—A span high, slender, branched, hairy at the base. (Nat. from Eu.)
S. Alliària, Scop. Stout, erect; leaves reniform to ovate-cordate, coarsely repand-dentate; flowers white; pods tapering, 1–2´ long, ascending on very stout spreading pedicels.—Near Georgetown, D. C. (Nat. from Eu.)
16. THELYPÒDIUM, Endl.
Pod terete or teretish; valves 1-nerved; stigma mostly entire. Seeds in 1 row in each cell, oblong, marginless. Cotyledons obliquely incumbent.—Stout biennials or perennials, with mostly large purplish or white flowers. Leaves or petioles often auricled at base. (Name from θῆλυς, female, and πούς, foot, the ovary in some species being stipitate.)
1. T. pinnatífidum, Watson. Glabrous (1–3° high), often branched above; root-leaves round or heart-shaped, on slender petioles; stem-leaves auricled, ovate-oblong and ovate-lanceolate (2–6´ long), sharply and often doubly toothed, tapering to each end, the lower into a winged petiole, rarely bearing a pair or two of small lateral lobes; flowers purplish; pods 1–1½´ long, on short diverging pedicels, pointed by a short style. (Arabis hesperidoides, Gray.) Alluvial river-banks, Ohio to Minn., Mo., and southwestward. May, June.
17. BRÁSSICA (Brassica and Sinàpis), Tourn.
Pod linear or oblong, nearly terete or 4-sided, with a stout 1-seeded beak or a rigid style; valves 1–5-nerved. Seeds globose, 1-rowed. Cotyledons incumbent, folded around the radicle.—Annuals or biennials, with yellow flowers. Lower leaves mostly lyrate, incised, or pinnatifid. (The Latin name of the Cabbage. Sinapis is the Greek σίναπι, which is said to come from the Celtic nap, a turnip.)
B. Sinapístrum, Boiss. (or Sinàpis arvénsis, L., the English Charlock), with knotty pods, fully one third occupied by a stout 2-edged beak (which is either empty or 1-seeded), the upper leaves barely toothed, is a noxious weed in grain-fields, from N. Eng. to Penn. and N. Y. westward. (Adv. from Eu.)
B. (or Sinàpis) álba. (White Mustard.) Pods bristly, ascending on spreading pedicels, more than half its length occupied by the sword-shaped 1-seeded beak; leaves all pinnatifid; seeds pale. (Cult. and adv. from Eu.)
B. (or Sinàpis) nìgra, Koch. (Black Mustard.) Pods smooth (½´ long), 4-cornered (the valves only 1-nerved), erect on appressed pedicels forming a slender raceme, tipped with a stout persistent style; seeds dark brown, smaller and more pungent than in the last; lower leaves with a large terminal lobe and a few small lateral ones.—Fields and waste places. (Adv. from Eu.)
B. campéstris, L., in the form of the Rutabaga and the Turnip, sometimes persists a year or two in neglected grounds.
18. CAPSÉLLA, Medic. Shepherd's Purse.
Pod obcordate-triangular, flattened contrary to the narrow partition; the valves boat-shaped, wingless. Seeds numerous. Cotyledons incumbent.—Annuals; flowers small, white. (Name a diminutive of capsa, a box.)
C. Bursa-pastòris, Moench. Root-leaves clustered, pinnatifid or toothed; stem-leaves arrow-shaped, sessile.—Waste places; the commonest of weeds. April–Sept. (Nat. from Eu.)
19. THLÁSPI, Tourn. Pennycress.
Pod orbicular, obovate, or obcordate, flattened contrary to the narrow partition, the midrib or keel of the boat-shaped valves extended into a wing. Seeds 2–8 in each cell. Cotyledons accumbent. Petals equal.—Low plants, with root-leaves undivided, stem-leaves arrow-shaped and clasping, and small white or purplish flowers. (Ancient Greek name, from θλάω, to crush, from the flattened pod.)
T. arvénse, L. (Field P. or Mithridate Mustard.) A smooth annual, with broadly winged pod ½´ in diameter, several seeded, deeply notched at top; style minute.—Waste places; rarely naturalized. (Nat. from Eu.)
20. LEPÍDIUM, Tourn. Pepperwort. Peppergrass.
Pod roundish, much flattened contrary to the narrow partition; the valves boat-shaped and keeled. Seeds solitary in each cell, pendulous. Cotyledons incumbent, or in n. 1 accumbent! Flowers small, white or greenish. (Name from λεπίδιον, a little scale, alluding to the small flat pods.)—Ours are annuals or biennials, except the last.
[*] Leaves all with a tapering base, the upper linear or lanceolate and entire, the lower and often the middle ones incised or pinnatifid; pods orbicular or oval, with a small notch at the top; the style minute or none; stamens only 2.
1. L. Virgínicum, L. (Wild Peppergrass.) Cotyledons accumbent and seed minutely margined; pod marginless or obscurely margined at the top; petals present, except in some of the later flowers.—June–Sept. A common roadside weed, which has immigrated from farther south.
2. L. intermèdium, Gray. Cotyledons incumbent as in the following; pod minutely wing-margined at the top; petals usually minute or wanting; otherwise nearly as in n. 1.—Dry places, from western N. Y. and N. Ill., north and westward.
L. ruderàle, L. More diffuse, the smaller and oval pods and the seeds marginless; petals always wanting.—Roadsides, near Boston, Philadelphia, etc.; not common. (Adv. from Eu.)
[*][*] Stem-leaves with a sagittate partly clasping base, rather crowded.
L. campéstre, Br. Minutely soft downy; leaves arrow-shaped, somewhat toothed; pods ovate, winged, rough, the style longer than the narrow notch.—Old fields, Mass. and N. Y. to Va.; rare. (Nat. from Eu.)
L. Dràba, L. Perennial, obscurely hoary; leaves oval or oblong, the upper with broad clasping auricles; flowers corymbose; pods heart-shaped, wingless, thickish, entire, tipped with a conspicuous style.—Astoria, near New York, D. C. Eaton.