''Thelypodium flexuosum'' is a species of flowering plant in the

mustard family Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The le ...

known by the common name nodding thelypody. It is native to the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

and surrounding plateau habitat in the northwestern United States, from California and Nevada to Idaho. It grows in scrubby habitat among the

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s of the sagebrush. ''Thelypodium flexuosum'' is a perennial herb growing from a woody

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

covered with layers of the dried bases of previous seasons' leaves. It has a deep taproot. It produces slender, branching, bending or erect stems up to 60 or 80 centimeters in maximum height. The basal leaves have waxy, lance-shaped blades on long petioles. Leaves higher on the plant are shorter and have bases that clasp the stem. The inflorescence is a dense, spikelike

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

of mustardlike flowers with lavender or whitish petals. The fruit is a cylindrical silique up to 4 centimeters long with several seeds inside.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Thelypodium flexuosum''''Thelypodium flexuosum'' - U.C. Photo gallery
flexuosum Flora of California Flora of Idaho Flora of Nevada Flora of the Great Basin Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Brassicales-stub