Chorispora tenella

Description

This is an annual herb reaching a maximum of half a meter in height. It has wavy-edged alternate leaves of lanceolate or oblanceolate shape of up to 8 centimeters long, and glandular hairs are typically observed on most parts of the plant. The four tiny petals of each cruciform flower emerge from a loose tube of sepals and spread into a corolla about a centimeter wide. The flowers are lavender to pale magenta in color, and a field heavily infested with purple mustard can take on a distinct lavender wash. The flowers have a light scent—more noticeable when many individual plants are blooming together in a large area—which is considered unpleasant by some and fragrant by others. The fruits are long upturned cylindrical capsules about 4 centimeters long containing round, reddish-brown seeds that eventually burst from the fruit pods. File:Chorispora tenella sl4.jpg|alt=leaf and stem with little hairs|Chorispora tenella stem and leaf File:Chorispora tenella sl1.jpg|alt=a stem with two small four-petalled flowers|Cruciform Chorispora tenella flowers File:Chorispora tenella - crossflower - Flickr - Matt Lavin (6).jpg|alt=a long, narrow, tapered seed pod|The fruit (seed pod) of Chorispora tenella File:Chorispora tenella sl11.jpg|alt=a dried out, empty, broken seed pod|The dried and emptied fruit of Chorispora tenella File:Chorispora tenella sl13.jpg|alt=segments of a dried out, broken seed pod with seeds resting inside|Seeds ofChorispora tenella

Etymology of name

According to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, the word origin of the scientific name for this species is as follows:

Invasiveness

This is a tenacious weed which can be troublesome in agriculture. It reduces yields in grain fields and when it is consumed by dairy cattle it gives their milk a bad taste and odor. This plant reproduces by seed, so any control method preventing the plants from setting seed is effective.

Outside of its native range, this species commonly occurs in areas where the soil has been disturbed, as well as along roadways, in pastures, and in steppe habitats.

References

References

1. "''Chorispora tenella'' (Pall.) DC.". University of Washington Burke Herbarium.
2. "''Chorispora tenella'' (Pall.) DC.". Kew Plants of the World Online.
3. "''Chorispora tenella'' (Pall.) DC.". Southwest Colorado Wildflowers.