Descurainia incisa subsp. incisa

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Native

Descurainia incisa is a California native annual herb found in the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and Great Basin in dry creeks, streambanks, sagebrush scrub, and open woodland at elevations of 900 to 2,900 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces pale yellow flowers on slender stems that branch in the upper portions. Growing 1.3 to 8.2 decimeters tall with green stems that can be glabrous or slightly hairy, it develops delicate, finely divided leaves with 5 to 9 pairs of lateral lobes that are oblong to lanceolate in shape. Its leaves are predominantly obovate to oblanceolate, measuring 1.5 to 10.3 centimeters long, with intricate pinnate structures. The fruit is a slender, erect linear pod 0.8 to 2 centimeters long, containing 14 to 26 small oblong seeds arranged in a single row.

Habitat: dry creeks, streambanks, disturbed areas, meadows, sagebrush scrub, open woodland, talus, alpine areas

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 900-2900 m

Bioregions: TR, PR, GB

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.