Lepidium perfoliatum

Clasping pepperweed

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Clasping pepperweed is a naturalized annual herb found in northern California regions including the Cascade Range, northern Sierra Nevada, Central Valley, southern Coast Ranges, Great Basin, and Desert areas at elevations up to 2,450 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces pale yellow flowers in small clusters with narrowly spoon-shaped petals. Growing 15 to 43 centimeters tall with erect, branched stems that become glaucous and slightly hairy, it develops distinctive leaves that clasp the stem and are deeply heart-shaped. Its leaves are 1 to 8 centimeters long, typically 2 to 3-pinnately lobed with linear to oblong segments, with lower leaves forming a basal rosette. The round to widely obovate fruit is 3 to 4.5 millimeters wide, featuring a small winged tip and smooth valves.

Habitat: Roadsides, fields, pastures, meadows, woodland, sagebrush flats

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: < 2450 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, CaR, n SNH, GV, SCoRI, GB, D

California counties: Modoc, Ventura, Inyo, Lassen, Los Angeles, Mono, Monterey, Placer, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Shasta, Siskiyou, San Joaquin, Kern, San Mateo, Plumas, Napa, Butte, Tuolumne, Marin, Santa Barbara, Colusa, Solano, Nevada, Orange, San Diego, Alpine, San Francisco, Fresno, Glenn, Lake, Sonoma, Santa Clara, San Benito, Trinity, Humboldt, Sierra, El Dorado

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