E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Alyssum desertorum Stapf
desert alyssum (desert madwort)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Robert Flogaus-Faust  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #21712)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Alyssum desertorum
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Species Information

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General:
Annual herb from a slender taproot; stems erect or ascending with several ascending branches near the base, 10-25 cm tall, the shoots grey-hairy with starlike hairs.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves narrowly oblanceolate, entire, 5-25 mm long, grey with starlike down.
Flowers:
Inflorescene elongate; flower stalks spreading, 2-5 mm long; flowers less than 3 mm in diameter; petals light yellow, very narrow, 2-3 mm long; sepals about 2 mm long, soft-hairy and with starlike hairs, deciduous shortly after fruiting.
Fruits:
Silicles, 3-4 mm long, round, shallowly notched, glabrous, strongly flattened near the edges and bulging over seeds, 2 seeds in each chamber; style about 1 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry disturbed areas and waste places in the steppe zone; infrequent in SC BC, introduced from Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Alyssum desertorum

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 781 1012 1130
Slope Gradient (%) 1 54 140
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
180 227 283
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
0 1 3
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
B
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
6
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: IDF(5), PP(1)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References