Nasturtium gambelii
From The Plant Encyclopedia
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Nasturtium gambelii | |
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About
Nasturtium gambelii (syn. Rorippa gambelii) is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names Gambel's yellowcress and Gambel's watercress. It is known from three<ref name=cpc>Center for Plant Conservation</ref> to four<ref name=cnps>California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile</ref> scattered occurrences in California, and it has been reported to exist in central Mexico and Guatemala.<ref name=fna>Flora of North America</ref> Its total population was last estimated at fewer than 300 individuals.<ref name=cpc/> It was federally listed as an endangered species of the United States in 1993.
This is a perennial herb growing decumbent to erect, its branching stems reaching up to 2 meters long. It is aquatic or semi-aquatic, its herbage sometimes floating on standing water or sprawling over wet ground. The leaves are up to 10 centimeters long and each is divided into several pairs of toothed, pointed leaflets. The inflorescence is a raceme of flowers with spoon-shaped white petals each just under a centimeter long. The fruit is a long, narrow, cylindrical silique which may be 3 centimeters long but less than 2 millimeters wide. It contains up to 20 minute seeds, the fruit narrowing between each. The plant reproduces via seed or vegetatively by sprouting from spreading shoots.<ref name=cpc/>
This rare plant grows in fresh and brackish water habitat, such as lakesides and marshes. Two of its remaining California occurrences are at Oso Flaco Lake at the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes and on coastal land on Vandenberg Air Force Base.<ref name=cpc/>
