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western tansymustard
Scientific Name: Descurainia pinnata
Family: Brassicaceae
Category: Dicot
Growth: Forb/herb
Duration: Annual, Biennial, Perennial
Other Names: OH (tansy-mustard)
Descurainia pinnata: Western Tansymustard
Descurainia pinnata, commonly known as western tansymustard, is a flowering plant belonging to the mustard family.
Considerations for Pets
- This plant is often found along roadsides and in disturbed areas.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Scientific Name: Descurainia pinnata (Walter) Britton
- Family: Brassicaceae (also known as Cruciferae), the Mustard Family
- Genus: Descurainia
- Common Names: Western tansymustard, Tansy mustard, Menzies' tansymustard, Nelson's tansymustard, Payson's tansymustard, Green tansymustard, Pinnate tansymustard, Yellow tansy mustard.
- Subspecies: Includes variants like Descurainia pinnata var. intermedia, Descurainia pinnata var. filipes, and Descurainia pinnata var. brachycarpa.
- Synonyms: Mentions Descurainia incana ssp. incana (mountain tansymustard), Descurainia sophia (flixweed, tansy mustard), and Descurainia incisa (mountain tansy mustard), indicating other related species in the genus.
Distribution and Habitat
- Native to North America.
- Widely distributed throughout the southern and western United States, up to 7000 feet in elevation.
- Common in the Rolling Plains region.
- Grows most commonly along ditches, roadsides, or on other disturbed, open sites with exposed mineral soil.
- Rare in New England, restricted to calcareous cliffs in New Hampshire.
- Also found outside of California, but is generally confined to western North America.
- May form heavy stands on dry, sandy soils.
Morphological Characteristics
- An annual forb.
- Greenish to short-grey-hairy, with fine, star-shaped hairs.
- Foliage is usually some shade of green.
- Leaves have pinnately lobed or divided margins.
- Produces yellow wildflowers.
Interactions with Other Organisms
- Consumed by mammalian herbivores in the Eastern states.
- Seed-pods harvested by Pogonomyrmex salinus workers (ants).
- Flowers visited by desert marble butterflies.
- May host leaf miners (f. agromyzidae).
- Anthocharis sara larva observed on it.
Traditional Uses
- The Cahuilla people used ground seeds for stomach ailments.
Further Information
- Discover Life: Provides information about the biology, natural history, ecology, identification, and distribution of Descurainia pinnata.