Lepidium acutidens

Net pepper grass

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Native

Net pepper grass is a California native annual found in the northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Central Valley, southwestern California, and Modoc Plateau in alkaline flats, fields, and stream beds at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces small white flowers in delicate clusters. Growing with erect or ascending stems 8 to 30 centimeters tall, it emerges with multiple stems from its base. Its basal leaves are early-deciduous and linear, ranging from 2 to 7 centimeters long, while mid-stem leaves are narrow, sessile, and entire. The distinctive fruit is ovate, 4 to 6 millimeters long with a V-shaped notch and strongly net-veined surfaces.

Habitat: Alkaline flats, fields, stream beds

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, CaR, GV, SW, MP

California counties: Colusa, Merced, Kern, Lassen, San Luis Obispo, Tulare, Los Angeles, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Diego, Yolo, Modoc, Stanislaus, Sonoma, Napa, Orange, San Joaquin, Riverside, Solano, Madera

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