Biennial or short-lived perennial with mostly smooth stems and many branches above. Small, narrow leaves clasp the stem. Longer leaves form a rosette at the plant base. Small flowers, often purple, grow in elongated clusters that are showy when in bloom.
Stems not hairy towards base; leaves clasp the stem; sepals purple, erect; petals 4, usually purple to light purple, rarely white, clawed (narrower at base); flower stalks slender; anthers narrow; stigmas 2-lobed.
Habitat
Dry, rocky hillsides, pinyon-juniper woodlands, desert shrub communities.
Flower Characteristics
Flower has 4 petals, a cross-like shape and is about 1/2 inch long. Below each flower are 4 erect, purple, leaf-like sepals much shorter than the petals. Flowers grow at the top of a loose to compact stalk and are showy, often having a deep purple color.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Basal leaves form a rosette at the ground level. They grow up to 6 inches long, have a rounded tip, taper at the base with tooth-like margins and a short stalk. Stem (caluline) leaves have a lance-like shape with no leafstalk often with a smooth margin.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruit is a silique, a narrow, 3x longer than wide pod 2 inches long. It grows on a stalk (stipe) about 1/4 inch long, is swollen and constricted at intervals growing upward as it develops. The fruit is 2-parted and splits open from both sides when ripe.
Seeds are dark brown, plump, less than 1/16 of an inch and have an oval to oblong shape. The seed coat has a minute web-like vein pattern on its surface. Rows of seeds are divided by a thin, wall-like partition in the fruit.