''Erysimum capitatum'' is a species of wallflower known commonly as the sanddune wallflower, western wallflower, or prairie rocket. This species can be found in regions across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, from the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

to the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...

. Some varieties have an extremely narrow distribution, especially those

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Description

''Erysimum capitatum'' is a

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

-like plant with thin, erect stems growing from a basal rosette and topped with dense bunches of variably colored flowers. Flowers are most typically bright golden, yellow, or tangerine-colored, but plants in some populations may have red, white or purple flowers. Each flower has four flat

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s. Seed pods are nearly parallel to the stem. It is a biennial herb and its native habitats include plains, foothills, and high elevation coniferous forests. The Latin specific epithet ''capitatum'' refers to the head-like shape of the flower cluster or the knobby stigma.

Subspecies

There are varieties or

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of this plant. Some are listed

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

. For example, ''Erysimum capitatum'' var. ''angustatum'', the Contra Costa wallflower, is an endangered plant in the state of

. The varieties include: *''E. c.'' var. ''angustatum''—Contra Costa wallflower; endemic to California, endangered species. *''E. c.'' var. ''bealianum''—Sanddune wallflower;

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

, California. *''E. c.'' var. ''capitatum''—Western wallflower; flowers from May to July, widely distributed across Colorado and Utah. *''E. c.'' var. ''lompocense''—San Luis Obispo wallflower; endemic to California. *''E. c.'' var. ''perenne'' (syn: ''Erysimum perenne'')—Sanddune wallflower; endemic to California. *''E. c.'' var. ''purshii''—Pursh's wallflower;

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

Pollinators

Little information on this wallflower species relationship with pollinators exists. Andrew Moldenke studied a population of ''Erysimum capitatum'' var. ''perenne'' in Subalpine Talus Fell Scree of the Timberland Hall Area ( elevation). He observed 13 species of flower visitors, although over 80% of the visits to the flowers were performed by two ant species, ''Formica lasioides'' and one from the '' Formica fusca'' group.

Cultivation

''Erysimum capitatum'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

. It is an attractive

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

, can be variable in appearance, and is used in

butterfly gardening Butterfly gardening is a way to create, improve, and maintain habitat for lepidopterans including butterflies, Skipper (butterfly), skippers, and moths. Butterflies have four distinct life stages—egg, larva, chrysalis, and adult. In order to ...

Uses

Zuni ethnobotany This is a list of plants and how they are used in Zuni culture. A *'' Abronia fragrans'' (snowball sand-verbena), fresh flowers eaten for stomachaches. Camazine & Bye, p. 377. * ''Achillea millefolium'' var. ''occidentalis'' (western yarr ...

, an infusion of the whole plant is used externally for muscle aches. The flower and the fruit are eaten as an emetic for stomach aches.

Gallery

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Erysimum capitatum''Jepson Manual Treatment — ''Erysimum capitatum''

''Erysimum capitatum'' Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3025685 capitatum Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the West Coast of the United States Flora of the United States Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Flora of California Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Plants used in traditional Native American medicine