Lepidium apetalum - Petal-less Pepperweed

Petal-less Pepperweed is an annual or biennial herv, up to 30 cm tall, usually branched all over, hairless or sparsely hairy. Basal and lower leaves are pinnately cut, with short, narrow lobes, 3-5 cm long, about 1 cm broad; uppermost leaves linear or nearly entire. Sometimes all leaves linear, distantly short-lobed or toothed. Flowers are borne in 20-30-flowered racemes, ebracteate, up to about 5 cm long, rarely more, in fruit. Flowers are minute, about 1 mm across; flower-stalk usually up to about 3 mm long in fruit, often becoming thread-like. Sepals are about 0.8 mm long, 0.5 mm broad, oblong. Petals absent or rudimentary, about 0.5 mm long, tip somewhat notched. Stamens are 2 or 4 only, outer 2 always absent, inner about 0.7 mm long with very minute anthers. Fruit is 2-2.5 mm long, about 2 mm broad, broadly elliptic, distinctly notched and obscurely or very shortly winged at the tip. Petal-less Pepperweed is is found in E. Europe to Temperate Asia, including Himalaya, at altitudes of 2600-4100 m. Flowering: April-June.