May Photo 

Plant Characteristics:  Annual, biennial or perennial; stems erect, 1, 2-5 dm. tall, branches above, rarely divided near base; hairs 0 or above, minute, simple; basal lvs. pinnately divided, cauline entire or lower pinnately lobed to dentate or serrate; sepals lance-ovate to sub-elliptic, white margined, setulose, +/- 1 mm., soon deciduous; petals vestigial, white, or 0; stamens 2 or 4; fr. 1.8-2.0 mm., widely elliptic to +/- round, shallowly notched, hairs sparse, weak; pedicel +/- ascending, slender, cylindric, hairy, style less than 0.2 mm., +/- = notch; seeds 2, less than 1 mm. long, somewhat tuberculate, flattened.

Habitat:  Disturbed areas, less than 200 m. Central Coast, South Coast.  Expected elsewhere. Blooms in May.

Name:  Greek, lepidion, a little scale, from the shape of the pods.  (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 291).  Latin, pinna, a wing, or a feather.  Latin, findo, to split.  (Jaeger 198, 103).  Split feather or in the case of a plant, the leaf split like a feather.  (my comment).  

General:  Rare in the study area, found only once and this along the westerly edge of the Delhi Ditch near its junction with the Upper Bay. In 2003, I found this plant in the parking lot of the Interpretive Center.  Photos are from both locations. (my comments).       About 175 species worldwide.  (Hickman, Ed. 426).   

Text Ref:  Hickman, Ed. 430; Munz, Flora So. Calif. 291.

Photo Ref:  April-June 97 # 27,28,29; Oct 02-Mar 03 #11.

Identity: by R. De Ruff, confirmed by John Johnson.

First Found:  May 1997.

Computer Ref:  Plant Data 505.

Have plant specimen.

Last edit 6/7/05

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