Raphanus raphanistrum

Jointed charlock

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Jointed charlock is a naturalized annual found in California Floristic Province and Great Basin regions in disturbed areas and fields at elevations below 1,100 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces pale yellow to white flowers with petals 15 to 25 millimeters long. Growing with hairy stems 20 to 80 centimeters tall that are reflexed-hairy, it spreads in open areas with distinctive foliage. Its leaves are lyre-shaped with 1 to 4 pairs of lateral lobes, ranging 3 to 15 centimeters long and having a deeply divided, irregular shape. The fruit develops as a distinctive segmented pod with a woody terminal segment up to 11 centimeters long.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, fields

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 1100 m

Bioregions: CA-FP, GB

California counties: Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura, Contra Costa, Fresno, Lake, Orange, San Bernardino, Tulare, Yuba, Colusa, San Joaquin, Riverside, Placer, Sacramento, Amador, San Luis Obispo, Nevada, Sonoma, Kern, San Francisco, Humboldt, Madera, Butte, Alpine, El Dorado, Santa Clara, Shasta, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Mariposa, San Mateo, Modoc, Marin, Alameda, Merced, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tehama, Monterey, Sutter, Mendocino, Napa, Siskiyou, Yolo

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