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DESCRIPTION:
Lesser-seeded bittercress is an annual or biennial plant 3 to 12
inches (7.5 - 30 cm) tall with several branched, smooth stems
emerging
at the soil line. Mature plant leaves, divided into 5 to 11 leaflets
each, radiate from the base of the stems in a rosette. Leaflets
are rounded, bright green, and have short stalks and several lobes.
Upper stem leaflets are narrower than those near the base. Two
to
ten white flowers are borne from the stem on stalks of unequal
length. The narrow, 0.5 to 0.75 inch (1.3 - 1.9 cm) long pods
split open
into two curling valves when mature, explosively projecting the
flattened and finely pebbled seed up to several yards (meters)
from
the plant. Hairy bittercress (C. hirsuta) is similar but
has fewer, lobed or kidney-shaped leaflets.
Broadleaf ID illustration.
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