Thelypodiopsis ambigua, Long Valley Tumblemustard, Southwest Desert Flora

Thelypodiopsis ambigua, Long Valley Tumblemustard

Long Valley Tumblemustard is beautiful with its long deep violet-purple petals, erect sepals and bright yellow-orange curled anthers. Thelypodiopsis ambigua

Long Valley Tumblemustard flowers branch out gracefully along tall raceme stalks. Flowers are quickly followed by a horizontal, drooping or ascending long thin fruit called a “silique”. Thelypodiopsis ambigua

Long Valley Tumblemustard leaves are green or bluish-green variable in shape. Lowers leaves are oblanceolate with dentate or sub-pinnatifid margins. Cauline leaves sessile and/or clasping as shown here. Thelypodiopsis ambigua

Long Valley Tumblemustard bloom from March to June across their very limited geographic native range in Arizona and Utah. The plants are considered to be Species of Concern by the BLM and USFS. The state of Utah does not maintain a list of rare or endangered plants. Thelypodiopsis ambigua

Long Valley Tumblemustard blooming in Yavapai County, Arizona March 03, 2016. Plants prefer elevations from 2,500 to 5,000 feet. There are 2 varieties in Thelypodiopsis ambigua.

Scientific Name: Thelypodiopsis ambigua
Common Name: Long Valley Tumblemustard
Also Called: Kanab Thelypody
Family: Brassicaceae, Mustard Family
Synonyms: (Sisymbrium ambiguum, Thelypodiopsis ambigua var. ambigua, Thelypodiopsis ambigua var. erecta, Thelypodium ambiguum)
Status: Native
Duration: Annual or Biennial
Size: Up to 6 feet more or less.
Growth Form: Forb/herb; plants glaucous; glabrous throughout; stem tall and stout, multiple branches.
Leaves: Green, bluish-green, glaucous; oblanceolate; margins dentate to sub-pinnatifid; cauline leaves sessile; blades lanceolate to oblong, cauline leaf margins mostly entire but rarely dentate.
Flower Color: Purple to lavender or white; inflorescence a raceme; note sepals erect, purple; petals purple to lavender or white; fruits a horizontal to divaricate-ascending silique.
Flowering Season: March to June; photos taken March 03.
Elevation: 2,500 to 5,000 feet.

Habitat Preferences: High desert, desert shrub communities; dry hillsides.

Recorded Range: is relatively rare in the United States where it is known only from Arizona and Utah. In Arizona it occurs in Coconino, Mohave and Yavapai counties and from Kane County in Utah.

North America & US County Distribution Map for Thelypodiopsis ambigua.

U.S. Weed Information: No information available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No information available.
Wetland Indicator: No information available.

Threatened/Endangered Information:Thelypodiopsis ambigua var. ambigua is identified as a Species of Concern; Kaibab National Forest; Ecological Sustainability Analysis of the Kaibab National Forest, Species Diversity Report, Species of Concern Ver 1.2; Mikele Painter, Valerie Stein Foster, December 22, 2008.
Thelypodiopsis ambigua var. erecta, Kanab Thelypody, is on the Utah BLM State Director’s Sensitive Species list; The State of Utah does not maintain an official sensitive plant species list; December 2005.

Genus Information: In North America there are 10 species and 13 accepted taxa overall for Thelypodiopsis. Worldwide, The Plant List includes 15 accepted species names and a further 3 scientific names of infraspecific rank for the genus.

In the Southwestern United States: Arizona and Nevada each have 2 species of Thelypodiopsis, California has 0 species, New Mexico and Texas each have 3 species, and Utah has 6 species. All data is approximate and subject to taxonomic changes.

There are 2 varieties in Thelypodiopsis ambigua;
Thelypodiopsis ambigua var. ambigua, Long Valley Tumblemustard, (AZ);
Thelypodiopsis ambigua var. erecta, Long Valley Tumblemustard, (AZ, UT).

Comments: Long Valley Tumblemustard is rare in the United States with small populations in Arizona; Coconino, Mohave and Yavapai counties and from Kane County in Utah.
Thelypodiopsis ambigua type species, as Sisymbrium ambiguum, is from Long Valley, Coconino County (Newberry), Arizona.