Jared's pepperweed facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jared's pepperweed |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Lepidium
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| Species: |
jaredii
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Lepidium jaredii is a type of flowering plant in the mustard family. It is also known as Jared's pepperweed. This plant is only found naturally in California. You can find it from the San Joaquin Valley to parts of the central California Coast Ranges.
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About Jared's Pepperweed
Lepidium jaredii is a plant that looks a bit like mustard. It grows for only one year. It has thin, straight stems that can grow up to about 70 centimeters (about 2.3 feet) tall. Its leaves are shaped like a spearhead and can be up to 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) long.
Two Types of Jared's Pepperweed
There are two main types, or subspecies, of this plant:
- ssp. jaredii: This type is called Jared's or Carrizo pepperweed. It has yellow petals.
- ssp. album: This type is called Panoche pepperweed. It has white petals.
Even though ssp. album is a real subspecies, some plant guides, like the Jepson Manual 2, don't officially recognize it yet.
Where Jared's Pepperweed Grows Best
This plant seems to love certain kinds of soil. It grows best in clay soils, especially those with a lot of gypsum and salt deep down. For the Panoche pepperweed (ssp. album), the soil often comes from a type of rock called marine shale, especially the Moreno shale formation.
This special soil is very extreme. Lepidium jaredii usually grows very well here. It doesn't have much competition from other plants. The top layer of soil is usually 3 to 5 inches of sticky clay. This clay gets very hard and clumpy when it's dry. Below that, there are several inches of powdery subsoil. This subsoil is rich in gypsum and salts. The soil in these areas is also very acidic, sometimes as low as a pH of 4.5.
Protecting Jared's Pepperweed
People are concerned about Lepidium jaredii because both types (ssp. jaredii and ssp. album) grow in very small areas.
Where Carrizo Pepperweed (ssp. jaredii) Lives
The Carrizo pepperweed (ssp. jaredii) is mostly found in the Carrizo Plain. A very large group of these plants lives at the south end of Soda Lake (near Panorama Road). This group can have anywhere from a few thousand to over a million plants each year! They grow on flat, salty clay ground.
This area is part of the Carrizo Plain National Monument. It is owned and protected by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Bakersfield Field Office. Some smaller groups of these plants also grow further north on private land near Kecks Corner in western Kern County. These plants grow on hillsides.
Where Panoche Pepperweed (ssp. album) Lives
Many groups of Panoche pepperweed (ssp. album) are found on hillsides in western Fresno County and eastern San Benito County. You can find them in places like Panoche Hills, Tumey Hills, Griswold Hills, Ciervo Hills, and Big Blue Hills. Much of the land where this type grows is owned and protected by the Bureau of Land Management Central Coast Field Office.
The southernmost known group of Panoche pepperweed (ssp. album) is near Oil Canyon, north of Coalinga. The northernmost group of Carrizo pepperweed (ssp. jaredii) is near Kecks Corner. There is about 40 miles of empty space between where these two types are known to grow.
