WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

Numerous branching stems from a woody base form a rounded clump 4–19-inches tall covered with dense, spherical arrays of small white flowers followed by flat, egg-shaped seed pods. Note the flowers have 6 stamens, and the basal leaves are lobed and the stem leaves narrow and linear.

FLOWER: March–July. Dense clusters bloom on short side branches along the stem. Each tiny flower as 4 white, egg-shaped petals, and 6 stamens–4 long, 2 short. Numerous seed pods on 3/4-inch long pedicels line the stem and are flat to cupped, egg-shaped, with a shallowly notched tip and a protruding mature style.

LEAVES: Basal, alternate on stem. Basal leaves, often in a rosette, are 1/2–8-inches long (1.2–20 cm) and deeply lobed (pinnately) along the midrib. Stem leaves alternate; upper blades are without stems (sessile), narrow, linear, 1/2–2 3/4-inches long 12–38 mm), 1/16-inch wide (1–2 mm), margins entire (not lobed).

HABITAT: Sandy, gravelly, limestone, gypsum soils, disturbed areas; desert grasslands and scrub, pinyon-juniper, ponderosa-Douglas fir forests.

ELEVATION: 3,200–8,700 feet.

RANGE: AZ, CO, NM, NV, TX, UT, WY. 

SIMILAR SPECIES: About 21 species plus subspecies of pepperweed in NM, many sharing the same range and habitat. The nearly identical Eastwood’s Tall Pepperweed, L. eastwoodiae, widespread in NM, reaches 18–65-inches tall and blooms June–September. Mountain Pepperweed, L. montanum, nearly statewide, has basal leaves with twice-divided lobes and stem leaves often with lobes along the midvein, and rounded seeds (not oval). Virginia Pepperweed, L. virginicum, nearly statewide, has only 2 stamens, circular seeds, serrated mid-stem leaves, and basal rosette leaves that wither by booming. Common Pepperweed, L. densiflorum, scattered statewide, has petals rudimentary to absent, and 2 stamens. Be advised, Flora of North America says the variety of forms within species can be “mind boggling.”

NM COUNTIES: Widespread in southern 1/2, cent., and nw NM in low- to mid-elevation habitats: Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Colfax, De Baca, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Los Alamos, Luna, Otero, Rio Arriba, San Juan, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Sierra, Socorro, Taos, Torrance, Valencia.