About Thysanocarpus radians Benth.
Thysanocarpus radians Benth. is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family Brassicaceae. It has the accepted common name ribbed fringepod, and is also colloquially called spokepod, after the distinct spoke-like shape of its seedpods. This plant is native to northern and central California, and Oregon. In this region, it grows in moist meadows, fields, hillsides, and other similar habitats. It is an annual herb that can reach 50 to 60 centimeters in maximum height.
Its leaves have wavy edges or lobes. Basal leaves grow up to 5 centimeters long and are ephemeral, falling away early. Upper leaves have bases that clasp the plant's stem. The inflorescence is a long, open raceme holding small flowers that are whitish or purplish in color. The fruit is a flattened, rounded, disc-like capsule that hangs from its pedicel. This fruit can reach up to 1 centimeter in length, and its texture ranges from hairless to quite hairy. A flat wing lines the edge of the disc fruit, and this wing is marked with ribbed rays that resemble wheel spokes. This characteristic makes the species easy to distinguish from other members of the genus Thysanocarpus when it is bearing fruit.
