Kingdom Plantae Family Brassicaceae Scientific name Anelsonia eurycarpa Rank Species | Order Brassicales Genus Anelsonia Higher classification Anelsonia | |
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Anelsonia is a monotypic genus in the mustard family containing the single species Anelsonia eurycarpa, which is known by the common name daggerpod. It is similar to Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides, but at present they are treated in separate genera. This species is a fleshy, hairy plant of higher-elevation mountain habitats throughout the western United States. Above the rosette of velvety, fingerlike leaves it bears densely packed inflorescences of tiny white flowers. The distinctive fruits develop and dwarf the rest of the plant under an array of saillike pod structures, each on a pedicel. The fruits are each 2 to 3 centimeters tall, elliptic, and papery to leathery across a span between stiff septa. They are white, often with areas of purple coloration, or brown. Within the folds of the fruit are several seeds. Anelsonia was named for the botanist Aven Nelson.