Rorippa sinuata

Spreading yellow cress

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Spreading yellow cress is a California native perennial found in the Great Basin in lake shores, streambanks, and moist fields at elevations of 900 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from April to August, this plant produces small yellow flowers in elongated clusters, with petals 3 to 5 millimeters long. Growing with decumbent to prostrate stems 10 to 42 centimeters tall, it spreads via rhizomes and branches extensively toward the stem tips. Its mid-stem leaves are pinnately lobed, 2.5 to 6.5 centimeters long, with oblong or ovate lateral lobes that may be dentate or wavy. The mature plant produces slender, curved siliques 4.7 to 11.5 millimeters long that contain 50 to 82 small, reniform seeds.

Habitat: Lake shores, streambanks, fields, moist ground

Bloom period: Apr-Aug

Elevation: 900-2600 m

Bioregions: GB

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