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western tansymustard
Scientific Name: Descurainia pinnata ssp. filipes
Family: Brassicaceae
Category: Dicot
Growth: Forb/herb
Duration: Annual, Biennial
Other Names:
Descurainia pinnata - Western Tansymustard
Descurainia pinnata, commonly known as western tansymustard, is a flowering plant belonging to the mustard family.
Considerations for Pets
- The text mentions that *Descurainia pinnata* is consumed by mammalian herbivores.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Scientific Name: Descurainia pinnata (Walter) Britton
- Family: Brassicaceae (also known as Cruciferae)
- Genus: Descurainia
- Common Names: Western tansymustard, Tansy Mustard, Menzies' tansymustard, Nelson's tansymustard, Payson's tansymustard, pinnate tansymustard, green tansymustard, Yellow tansy mustard
- Synonyms/Alternative Names: pinnate tansy mustard
- Subspecies and Varieties:
- Descurainia pinnata var. intermedia
- Descurainia pinnata var. filipes
- Descurainia pinnata var. brachycarpa
- Descurainia pinnata ssp. brachycarpa (Richardson) Detling
Distribution and Habitat
- Native to North America.
- Has a broad distribution across North America but is rare in New England, restricted to calcareous cliffs in New Hampshire.
- Common throughout the Rolling Plains, especially on disturbed areas.
- Found widely throughout the southern and western United States up to 7000 feet in elevation.
- Heavy stands may form on dry, sandy soils.
- Grows most commonly along ditches, roadsides, or on other disturbed, open sites where mineral soil has been exposed.
Morphological Characteristics
- Annual plant.
- Foliage is usually some shade of green.
- Greenish to short-grey-hairy, with fine, star-shaped hairs.
- Leaf margins are pinnately lobed or divided.
Interactions with Other Organisms
- Observed to be visited by desert marble butterflies.
- May host leaf miner flies (f. agromyzidae).
- Anthocharis sara larva feed on this plant.
- Pogonomyrmex salinus worker harvesting seed-pod of western tansy-mustard ( Descurainia sp.)
Traditional Uses
- The Cahuilla people used the ground seeds for stomach ailments.
Quirky Facts
- The name "tansymustard" refers to the leaf margins, which are pinnately lobed or divided.
- One source humorously questions the use of "Western" in the common name as the plant grows in eastern Central Florida.
Further Information
- Discover Life: Provides information about the biology, natural history, ecology, identification, and distribution of Descurainia pinnata.
- NIISS.org: Offers a species profile, habitat information, and details on control and invasion.