Herb Sophia

Foodplant / feeds on
larva of Ceutorhynchus pulvinatus feeds on Descurainia sophia

Foodplant / feeds on
larva of Ceutorhynchus rapae feeds on Descurainia sophia

Foodplant / parasite
Erysiphe cruciferarum parasitises live Descurainia sophia

Foodplant / sap sucker
nymph of Eurydema dominulus sucks sap of Descurainia sophia

The seeds are sometimes used as a substitute for mustard. Preparations from the plant are taken internally to eradicate worms, and externally to treat indolent ulcers.

A very variable species with several infra-specific taxa recognized. Our plants, with usually conspicuous petals exceeding the sepals, fall under the var. persica (Schrad.) Schulz, but smaller petal forms are not lacking. Leaves also sometimes show 1-2-pinnate conditions, and the size of siliquae is also very vari¬able. It is considered as fodder for camels.

Herbs annual, (10-)20-70(-100) cm tall, eglandular, sparsely to densely pubescent with dendritic trichomes, sometimes glabrous distally. Stems erect, simple basally, often branched above. Basal and lowermost cauline leaves 2- or 3-pinnatisect, ovate or oblong in outline, to 15 × 8 cm; petiole 0.1-2(-3) cm; leaf blade ultimate division linear or oblong, entire, acute to 10 × 2 mm. Upper cauline leaves sessile or shortly petiolate, smaller and often with narrower ultimate lobes, often glabrous. Fruiting pedicels (0.5-)0.8-1.5(-2) cm, slender, much narrower than fruit, straight, divaricate or ascending. Sepals yellowish, oblong-linear, 2-2.5 × ca. 0.5 mm. Petals yellow, narrowly oblanceolate, 2-2.5 × ca. 0.5 mm; claw 1.5-2 mm. Filaments 2-3 mm; anthers ca. 0.5 mm. Ovules 20-40 per ovary. Fruit narrowly linear, (1.2-)1.5-2.7(-3) cm × 0.5-0.8(-1) mm; valves glabrous, torulose, with a prominent midvein; septum with a broad central longitudinal band appearing as 2 or 3 veins; style obsolete or to 0.2 mm. Seeds reddish brown, oblong, 0.7-1 × 0.3-0.6 mm. Fl. and Fr. Apr-Jun. 2n = 28*.

Annual or biennial, 30-90 cm tall, erect, branched, hairy with simple and branched hairs below, and usually almost glabrous above. Leaves (2-) 3-pinnatisect, 5-15 cm long, stalked; lobes usually 1-2 mm broad, linear or oblong; upper most leaves sessile or subsessile, ± similar. Racemes 40-80-flowered, up to 30 cm long in fruit. Flowers 2-3 mm across, yellow; pedicels usually 10-15 mm long in fruit, filiform, ascending, glabrous. Sepals c. 2 mm long. Petals c. 2.5 (-4) mm long, 0.5-1 mm broad, rarely very reduced or abortive. Stamens c. 2: 2.5 mm long; anthers c. 0.5 mm long. Siliquae linear, 15-35 mm long, c. 1 mm broad, often upcurved, glabrous, obscurely torulose; valves subconvex, 1-veined; stigma depressed-capitate, subsessile; seeds many, c. 0.7 mm long, reddish-brown; septum veined.

Throughout China except Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan [Afghanistan, Bhutan, Japan, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Sikkim, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; N Africa, SW Asia, Europe; introduced elsewhere].

Distribution: Most of Europe, Asia and Africa; introduced elsewhere.

Europe, N. Africa, W. & C. Asia, Himalaya.

2200-4100 m

Fl. Per.: April-July.

Roadsides, waste places, disturbed sites, fields, pastures, deserts; near sea level to 4200 m.

Sisymbrium sophia Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 659. 1753.

More info for the terms: cover, forb, forbs, herb, prescribed fire, restoration, succession

Herb sophia may invade after restoration treatments [34],
including postfire restoration. It was the most abundant exotic forb species 1 and 2 years after prescribed
burning and glyphosate treatment to control smooth brome (Bromus inermis)
on native rough fescue (Festuca altaica) prairie in Saskatchewan.
Herb sophia numbers were similar on smooth brome-infested and native
prairie plots, which were also treated with fire and herbicide [53].

Burning may not increase postfire cover of herb sophia. In his classic
study of postfire succession of herb sophia and other exotics in big
sagebrush, Piemeisel  [100] wrote "the mere statement that a field has been burned
is not sufficient information to foretell what the effect will be on the
succeeding plant cover." For example, a
Gambel oak/common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) community in Utah was chained and burned to increase
forage production for cattle and elk. Two years after treatment, flixweed
tansymustard cover showed little change (± 1%) compared to pretreatment levels
[79]. Piemesel [100] stated that site grazing history, postfire weather
patterns, and level of postfire cheatgrass cover will affect cover and relative
abundance of flixweed
tansymustard and other early successional forbs.

The Research Project Summary Nonnative annual grass fuels and fire in
California's Mojave Desert provides information on prescribed fire and postfire response
of plant community species including herb sophia.

herb sophia

flixweed tansymustard

Herb sophia is classified as a noxious weed list in Colorado and Minnesota [137,138].

More info for the terms: bisexual, cool-season, fruit, herb, silique, succession

The following description of herb sophia provides characteristics that may be relevant to fire ecology, and is not meant for identification. Keys for identification are available (e.g. [32,48,51,64,106]).

Herb sophia is an exotic, cool-season annual or biennial. It is the type species for the genus [51,64,88,130,134]. The single, 6- to 31-inch-long (15-80 cm) stem is coarse, with basal and cauline leaves. Cauline leaves have a large amount of surface area, being 2 or 3 times pinnately divided. The inflorescence is a raceme of bisexual flowers. The fruit is a 1 × 10- to 71-mm-long silique bearing 10 to 20 small (10-25 mm long), seeds [32,49,51,64,96,106,145]. Tansymustard (Descurainia spp.) fruits and seeds do not have specialized appendages for dispersal [74,76]. Tansymustards have a short taproot [29,153].

Stand structure of flixweed tansymustard-dominated communities is sparse immediately after disturbance. Herb sophia stands often become dense and crowded within a few postdisturbance years, and thin as succession advances [16]. For further information on herb sophia's role in succession, see Successional Status below.

More info for the terms: herb, seed

Herb sophia is native to Europe and northern Africa [133]. It probably arrived in North America in the mid-1800s as an impurity in crop seed, and was widespread by the 1920s [103]. It now occurs in 48 states, excluding Alabama and Florida [72]. Its distribution extends south to Baja California, and as far north as 70o N latitude in Greenland, Alaska, and Canada. It occurs throughout Canada except Labrador and eastern Nunavut [69,72,133,147]. Plants database provides a distributional map of herb sophia in the United States and Canada. Flixweed tansymustard is also introduced in South America, Asia, southern Africa, and New Zealand [69,88].

The following biogeographic classification systems are presented as a guide to demonstrate where herb sophia may be found. Precise distribution information is limited. Because it is so widespread, it is difficult to exclude many ecosystems as potential hosts of herb sophia plants or populations; therefore, these lists are speculative.

More info for the terms: fire regime, forest, herb, invasive species, litter, mesic, seed, shrub, succession, woodland

Fire adaptations: Herb sophia establishes from soil-stored seed after fire [2,39]. Animal, wind, or machinery transport from off-site may provide additional, minor sources of seed [155] or introduce herb sophia to burns where it is not already present in the soil seed bank. Fire creates conditions favorable for flixweed tansymustard establishment (bare soil, open canopy, reduced growth interference) [16,101]. As a shade-intolerant, invasive species, flixweed tansymustard thrives in the early postfire environment [151].

FIRE REGIMES: Introduced species can alter the rate of spread of fire, the probability of occurrence of fire, and the intensity of fire in an ecosystem [31]. Herb sophia has multiple, finely divided leaves [32,51,64,106] and tends to form dense stands that are dead and dry by the fire season [16]; hence, it provides a source of fine surface fuels that can spread fire. If herb sophia stands do not burn, they provide litter that favors establishment of species, including cheatgrass, which are more sensitive to desiccation as germinants and seedlings than herb sophia [37,38].

Herb sophia was absent or unimportant in fire-prone ecosystems when historic FIRE REGIMES were functional; however, pinnate and other tansymustards were present. Flixweed and pinnate tansymustard are morphologically and ecologically similar [89], and herb sophia is filling or sharing the ecological niche of pinnate tansymustard as an initial colonizer and early seral species on burns. The role of both species in facilitating establishment of other weedy species in dry environments by providing litter (and subsequently, more mesic conditions for germination and seedling growth of other species including cheatgrass) needs further investigation. There may be subtle differences in the effectiveness of the 2 species in facilitating postdisturbance succession; this also bears investigation, particularly in areas vulnerable to cheatgrass invasion.

Because herb sophia is widespread, it is difficult to exclude many ecosystems as potential hosts of herb sophia plants or populations. The following table provides some fire return intervals for plant communities where herb sophia may be important. Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under "Find FIRE REGIMES".

Community or Ecosystem Dominant Species Fire Return Interval Range (years) silver fir-Douglas-fir Abies amabilis-Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii > 200 grand fir A. grandis 35-200 [8] maple-beech-birch Acer-Fagus-Betula > 1000 silver maple-American elm A. saccharinum-Ulmus americana < 35 to 200 sugar maple A. saccharum > 1,000 sugar maple-basswood A. saccharum-Tilia americana > 1,000 [144] California chaparral Adenostoma and/or Arctostaphylos spp. 97] bluestem prairie Andropogon gerardii var. gerardii-Schizachyrium scoparium 77,97] Nebraska sandhills prairie A. gerardii var. paucipilus-S. scoparium < 10 bluestem-Sacahuista prairie A. littoralis-Spartina spartinae 97] silver sagebrush steppe Artemisia cana 5-45 [62,104,150] sagebrush steppe A. tridentata/Pseudoroegneria spicata 20-70 [97] basin big sagebrush A. tridentata var. tridentata 12-43 [116] mountain big sagebrush A. tridentata var. vaseyana 15-40 [9,23,87] Wyoming big sagebrush A. tridentata var. wyomingensis 10-70 (40**) [141,156] coastal sagebrush A. californica < 35 to < 100 saltbush-greasewood Atriplex confertifolia-Sarcobatus vermiculatus < 35 to < 100 desert grasslands Bouteloua eriopoda and/or Pleuraphis mutica 5-100 [97] plains grasslands Bouteloua spp. 97,150] blue grama-needle-and-thread grass-western wheatgrass B. gracilis-Hesperostipa comata-Pascopyrum smithii 97,113,150] blue grama-buffalo grass B. gracilis-Buchloe dactyloides 97,150] grama-galleta steppe Bouteloua gracilis-Pleuraphis jamesii < 35 to < 100 blue grama-tobosa prairie B. gracilis-P. mutica < 35 to < 100 cheatgrass Bromus tectorum < 10 California montane chaparral Ceanothus and/or Arctostaphylos spp. 50-100 [97] sugarberry-America elm-green ash Celtis laevigata-Ulmus americana-Fraxinus pennsylvanica 144] paloverde-cactus shrub Cercidium microphyllum/Opuntia spp. 97] curlleaf mountain-mahogany* Cercocarpus ledifolius 13-1000 [11,118] mountain-mahogany-Gambel oak scrub C. ledifolius-Quercus gambelii 97] Atlantic white-cedar Chamaecyparis thyoides 35 to > 200 [144] blackbrush Coleogyne ramosissima < 35 to < 100 Arizona cypress Cupressus arizonica < 35 to 200 northern cordgrass prairie Distichlis spicata-Spartina spp. 1-3 [97] beech-sugar maple Fagus spp.-Acer saccharum > 1000 [144] California steppe Festuca-Danthonia spp. 97,129] black ash Fraxinus nigra 144] juniper-oak savanna Juniperus ashei-Quercus virginiana < 35 Ashe juniper J. ashei < 35 western juniper J. occidentalis 20-70 Rocky Mountain juniper J. scopulorum < 35 cedar glades J. virginiana 3-7 tamarack Larix laricina 35-200 [97] western larch L. occidentalis 25-100 [8] creosotebush Larrea tridentata < 35 to < 100 Ceniza shrub L. tridentata-Leucophyllum frutescens-Prosopis glandulosa 97] yellow-poplar Liriodendron tulipifera 144] wheatgrass plains grasslands Pascopyrum smithii < 5-47+ [97,104,150] Great Lakes spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35 to > 200 northeastern spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35-200 [33] southeastern spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35 to > 200 [144] Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir P. engelmannii-A. lasiocarpa 35 to > 200 [8] black spruce P. mariana 35-200 [33] blue spruce* P. pungens 35-200 [8] red spruce* P. rubens 35-200 [33] pine-cypress forest Pinus-Cupressus spp. 8] pinyon-juniper Pinus-Juniperus spp. 97] whitebark pine* P. albicaulis 50-200 [1,6] jack pine P. banksiana 33] Mexican pinyon P. cembroides 20-70 [91,132] Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine* P. contorta var. latifolia 25-300+ [7,8,112] Sierra lodgepole pine* P. contorta var. murrayana 35-200 [7] shortleaf pine P. echinata 2-15 shortleaf pine-oak P. echinata-Quercus spp. 144] Colorado pinyon P. edulis 10-400+ [44,50,75,97] slash pine P. elliottii 3-8 slash pine-hardwood P. elliottii-variable < 35 sand pine P. elliottii var. elliottii 25-45 [144] Jeffrey pine P. jeffreyi 5-30 western white pine* P. monticola 50-200 [8] longleaf-slash pine P. palustris-P. elliottii 1-4 [94,144] longleaf pine-scrub oak P. palustris-Quercus spp. 6-10 [144] Pacific ponderosa pine* P. ponderosa var. ponderosa 1-47 [8] interior ponderosa pine* P. ponderosa var. scopulorum 2-30 [8,12,80] Arizona pine P. ponderosa var. arizonica 2-15 [12,28,119] Table Mountain pine P. pungens 144] red pine (Great Lakes region) P. resinosa 10-200 (10**) [33,46] red-white-jack pine* P. resinosa-P. strobus-P. banksiana 10-300 [33,58] pitch pine P. rigida 6-25 [21,59] pocosin P. serotina 3-8 pond pine P. serotina 3-8 eastern white pine P. strobus 35-200 eastern white pine-eastern hemlock P. strobus-Tsuga canadensis 35-200 eastern white pine-northern red oak-red maple P. strobus-Quercus rubra-Acer rubrum 35-200 loblolly pine P. taeda 3-8 loblolly-shortleaf pine P. taeda-P. echinata 10 to < 35 Virginia pine P. virginiana 10 to < 35 Virginia pine-oak P. virginiana-Quercus spp. 10 to < 35 sycamore-sweetgum-American elm Platanus occidentalis-Liquidambar styraciflua-Ulmus americana 144] galleta-threeawn shrubsteppe Pleuraphis jamesii-Aristida purpurea < 35 to < 100 eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides 97] aspen-birch P. tremuloides-Betula papyrifera 35-200 [33,144] quaking aspen (west of the Great Plains) P. tremuloides 7-120 [8,55,86] mesquite Prosopis glandulosa 85,97] mesquite-buffalo grass P. glandulosa-Buchloe dactyloides < 35 Texas savanna P. glandulosa var. glandulosa 97] black cherry-sugar maple Prunus serotina-Acer saccharum > 1000 [144] mountain grasslands Pseudoroegneria spicata 3-40 (10**) [7,8] Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir* Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca 25-100 [8,9,10] coastal Douglas-fir* P. menziesii var. menziesii 40-240 [8,92,109] California mixed evergreen P. menziesii var. m.-Lithocarpus densiflorus-Arbutus menziesii < 35 California oakwoods Quercus spp. 8] oak-hickory Quercus-Carya spp. 144] oak-juniper woodland (Southwest) Quercus-Juniperus spp. 97] northeastern oak-pine Quercus-Pinus spp. 10 to 144] oak-gum-cypress Quercus-Nyssa-spp.-Taxodium distichum 35 to > 200 [94] southeastern oak-pine Quercus-Pinus spp. 144] coast live oak Q. agrifolia 2-75 [52] white oak-black oak-northern red oak Q. alba-Q. velutina-Q. rubra 144] canyon live oak Q. chrysolepis <35 to 200 blue oak-foothills pine Q. douglasii-Pinus sabiniana 8] northern pin oak Q. ellipsoidalis 144] Oregon white oak Q. garryana 8] bear oak Q. ilicifolia 144] California black oak Q. kelloggii 5-30 [97] bur oak Q. macrocarpa 144] oak savanna Q. macrocarpa/Andropogon gerardii-Schizachyrium scoparium 2-14 [97,144] shinnery Q. mohriana 97] chestnut oak Q. prinus 3-8 northern red oak Q. rubra 10 to < 35 post oak-blackjack oak Q. stellata-Q. marilandica < 10 black oak Q. velutina < 35 live oak Q. virginiana 10 to144] interior live oak Q. wislizenii 8] cabbage palmetto-slash pine Sabal palmetto-Pinus elliottii 94,144] blackland prairie Schizachyrium scoparium-Nassella leucotricha < 10 Fayette prairie S. scoparium-Buchloe dactyloides < 10 little bluestem-grama prairie S. scoparium-Bouteloua spp. < 35 tule marshes Scirpus and/or Typha spp. 144] redwood Sequoia sempervirens 5-200 [8,42,131] southern cordgrass prairie Spartina alterniflora 1-3 [97] baldcypress Taxodium distichum var. distichum 100 to > 300 pondcypress T. distichum var. nutans 94] western redcedar-western hemlock Thuja plicata-Tsuga heterophylla > 200 [8] eastern hemlock-yellow birch T. canadensis-Betula alleghaniensis > 200 [144] western hemlock-Sitka spruce T. heterophylla-Picea sitchensis > 200 mountain hemlock* T. mertensiana 35 to > 200 [8] elm-ash-cottonwood Ulmus-Fraxinus-Populus spp. 33,144] *fire return interval varies widely; trends in variation are noted in the species summary
**mean

More info for the terms: cover, forb, forbs, herb, interference, presence, seed, shrubland, succession, wildfire

Fire as a control agent: There are no published studies on using fire to control herb sophia, but given herb sophia's strong response to increased light and nutrients and open ground, fire alone is unlikely to provide control. If flixweed tansymustard is already onsite in the seed bank, or as a few plants, fire is likely to increase the species' importance in the early postfire community.

Interactions with cheatgrass: If present in the seed bank, herb sophia is liable to dominate early postfire communities if the seedbed or the postfire climate are unfavorable for cheatgrass establishment [37,38,100]. Even when cheatgrass dominates the postfire community, herb sophia is likely to be an important forb. The 2 species are frequently found together in the prefire seed bank. In a big sagebrush-rubber rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) community in Wyoming, cheatgrass dominated the seed bank, but herb sophia was 1 of the most important forbs in the seed bank [93]. Succession after a July 1985 wildfire on the Snake River Birds of Prey Area, southwestern Idaho, followed a typical pattern, with herb sophia showing greater cover than any other plant species except cheatgrass. There was much open ground in the area, especially on sites prepared for postfire rehabilitation. Mean percent cover at postfire year 1 was [54]:

  Burned Partially burned Burned/rehabilitated* Unburned, untreated control herb sophia 5 3 6 < 1 cheatgrass 26 9 14 5 bare ground 22 22 54 22 *drill-seeded with crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum), yellow sweetclover (Melilotus officinalis), and fourwing
saltbush (Atriplex canescens)

Interactions with pinnate and other tansymustards: Although they are taxonomically and ecologically similar, little is known of possible  growth interference of  exotic herb sophia to pinnate and other native tansymustards in postfire environments. Limited studies are inconclusive, and further research is needed in this area. A review by Wright and others [151] describes flixweed tansymustard as more resilient to fall prescribed burning than pinnate tansymustard ("undamaged" vs. "slightly damaged" by fall fire, respectively). Postfire responses of the 2 species probably depend upon their relative abundance in the prefire seed bank and poorly understood differences in germination and seedling establishment requirements. Floyd-Hanna and others [45] noted the presence of both species after the Chapin 5 Wildfire at Mesa Verde National Park in the summer of 1996. Herb sophia was more frequent on study plots than pinnate tansymustard at postfire year 1. Herb sophia was not observed on study plots at postfire year 2, while pinnate tansymustard increased. Tansymustard frequencies (%) on burn sites were as follows [45]:

  Herb sophia Pinnate tansymustard

1997

Gambel oak/Utah serviceberry* mountain shrubland 16  3 Gambel oak-Colorado pinyon-Utah juniper 12  1 Colorado pinyon-Utah juniper 10  2

1998

Gambel oak/Utah serviceberry mountain shrubland  0 31 Gambel oak-Colorado pinyon-Utah juniper  0 24 Colorado pinyon-Utah juniper  0 27 *Amelanchier utahensis

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More info for the term: therophyte

RAUNKIAER [107] LIFE FORM:
Therophyte

More info for the terms: herb, shrubland

Herb sophia occurs in open-canopy, disturbed sites. It is particularly common in washes and on roadsides, railroad rights-of-way, waste grounds, old fields, and early seral burns [35,64,70,100,101,110,142,151]. It grows in a variety of mineral soils including loam, silty clay [36], and sand, where it is most common. It tolerates dry soil, but is not salt tolerant [56,121]. In salt-desert shrubland of central Utah, herb sophia occurred only on plots with < 3,000 ppm soluble salts and < 12% soil moisture [121].

Elevational ranges of herb sophia are:

California <8,530 ft (<2,600 m) [64] Colorado 4,000-8,000 ft (1,200-2,400 m) [57] New Mexico 4,000-8,000 ft [82] Nevada 2,220-9,000 ft (680-2,700 m) [73] Utah 2,300-8,050 ft (700-2,450 m) [145]

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

More info for the terms: cover, swamp

SAF COVER TYPES [41]:




1 Jack pine

5 Balsam fir

12 Black spruce

13 Black spruce-tamarack

14 Northern pin oak

15 Red pine

16 Aspen

17 Pin cherry

18 Paper birch

19 Gray birch-red maple

20 White pine-northern red oak-red maple

21 Eastern white pine

22 White pine-hemlock

23 Eastern hemlock

24 Hemlock-yellow birch

25 Sugar maple-beech-yellow birch

26 Sugar maple-basswood

27 Sugar maple

28 Black cherry-maple

30 Red spruce-yellow birch

31 Red spruce-sugar maple-beech

32 Red spruce

33 Red spruce-balsam fir

34 Red spruce-Fraser fir

35 Paper birch-red spruce-balsam fir

37 Northern white-cedar

38 Tamarack

39 Black ash-American elm-red maple

40 Post oak-blackjack oak

42 Bur oak

43 Bear oak

44 Chestnut oak

45 Pitch pine

46 Eastern redcedar

50 Black locust

51 White pine-chestnut oak

52 White oak-black oak-northern red oak

53 White oak

55 Northern red oak

57 Yellow-poplar

58 Yellow-poplar-eastern hemlock

59 Yellow-poplar-white oak-northern red oak

60 Beech-sugar maple

61 River birch-sycamore

62 Silver maple-American elm

63 Cottonwood

64 Sassafras-persimmon

65 Pin oak-sweetgum

66 Ashe juniper-redberry (Pinchot) juniper

67 Mohrs (shin) oak

68 Mesquite

69 Sand pine

70 Longleaf pine

71 Longleaf pine-scrub oak

72 Southern scrub oak

73 Southern redcedar

74 Cabbage palmetto

75 Shortleaf pine

76 Shortleaf pine-oak

78 Virginia pine-oak

79 Virginia pine

80 Loblolly pine-shortleaf pine

81 Loblolly pine

82 Loblolly pine-hardwood

83 Longleaf pine-slash pine

84 Slash pine

85 Slash pine-hardwood

87 Sweetgum-yellow-poplar

88 Willow oak-water oak-diamondleaf (laurel) oak

89 Live oak

91 Swamp chestnut oak-cherrybark oak

92 Sweetgum-willow oak

93 Sugarberry-American elm-green ash

94 Sycamore-sweetgum-American elm

95 Black willow

96 Overcup oak-water hickory

97 Atlantic white-cedar

98 Pond pine

100 Pondcypress

101 Baldcypress

102 Baldcypress-tupelo

103 Water tupelo-swamp tupelo

104 Sweetbay-swamp tupelo-redbay

105 Tropical hardwoods

106 Mangrove

107 White spruce

108 Red maple

109 Hawthorn

110 Black oak

111 South Florida slash pine

201 White spruce

202 White spruce-paper birch

203 Balsam poplar

204 Black spruce

205 Mountain hemlock

206 Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir

207 Red fir

208 Whitebark pine

209 Bristlecone pine

210 Interior Douglas-fir

211 White fir

212 Western larch

213 Grand fir

215 Western white pine

216 Blue spruce

217 Aspen

218 Lodgepole pine

219 Limber pine

220 Rocky Mountain juniper

221 Red alder

222 Black cottonwood-willow

223 Sitka spruce

224 Western hemlock

225 Western hemlock-Sitka spruce

226 Coastal true fir-hemlock

227 Western redcedar-western hemlock

228 Western redcedar

229 Pacific Douglas-fir

230 Douglas-fir-western hemlock

231 Port-Orford-cedar

232 Redwood

233 Oregon white oak

234 Douglas-fir-tanoak-Pacific madrone

235 Cottonwood-willow

236 Bur oak

237 Interior ponderosa pine

238 Western juniper

239 Pinyon-juniper

240 Arizona cypress

241 Western live oak

242 Mesquite

243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer

244 Pacific ponderosa pine-Douglas-fir

245 Pacific ponderosa pine

246 California black oak

247 Jeffrey pine

248 Knobcone pine

249 Canyon live oak

250 Blue oak-foothills pine

251 White spruce-aspen

252 Paper birch

253 Black spruce-white spruce

254 Black spruce-paper birch

255 California coast live oak

256 California mixed subalpine

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

More info for the term: shrub

ECOSYSTEMS [47]:




FRES10 White-red-jack pine

FRES11 Spruce-fir

FRES12 Longleaf-slash pine

FRES13 Loblolly-shortleaf pine

FRES14 Oak-pine

FRES15 Oak-hickory

FRES16 Oak-gum-cypress

FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood

FRES18 Maple-beech-birch

FRES19 Aspen-birch

FRES20 Douglas-fir

FRES21 Ponderosa pine

FRES22 Western white pine

FRES23 Fir-spruce

FRES24 Hemlock-Sitka spruce

FRES25 Larch

FRES26 Lodgepole pine

FRES27 Redwood

FRES28 Western hardwoods

FRES29 Sagebrush

FRES30 Desert shrub

FRES31 Shinnery

FRES32 Texas savanna

FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe

FRES34 Chaparral-mountain shrub

FRES35 Pinyon-juniper

FRES36 Mountain grasslands

FRES37 Mountain meadows

FRES38 Plains grasslands

FRES39 Prairie

FRES40 Desert grasslands

FRES41 Wet grasslands

FRES42 Annual grasslands

FRES44 Alpine

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the terms: bog, forest, shrub, woodland

KUCHLER [78] PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:




K001 Spruce-cedar-hemlock forest

K002 Cedar-hemlock-Douglas-fir forest

K003 Silver fir-Douglas-fir forest

K004 Fir-hemlock forest

K005 Mixed conifer forest

K006 Redwood forest

K007 Red fir forest

K008 Lodgepole pine-subalpine forest

K009 Pine-cypress forest

K010 Ponderosa shrub forest

K011 Western ponderosa forest

K012 Douglas-fir forest

K013 Cedar-hemlock-pine forest

K014 Grand fir-Douglas-fir forest

K015 Western spruce-fir forest

K016 Eastern ponderosa forest

K017 Black Hills pine forest

K018 Pine-Douglas-fir forest

K019 Arizona pine forest

K020 Spruce-fir-Douglas-fir forest

K021 Southwestern spruce-fir forest

K022 Great Basin pine forest

K023 Juniper-pinyon woodland

K024 Juniper steppe woodland

K025 Alder-ash forest

K026 Oregon oakwoods

K027 Mesquite bosques

K028 Mosaic of K002 and K026

K029 California mixed evergreen forest

K030 California oakwoods

K031 Oak-juniper woodland

K032 Transition between K031 and K037

K033 Chaparral

K034 Montane chaparral

K035 Coastal sagebrush

K036 Mosaic of K030 and K035

K037 Mountain-mahogany-oak scrub

K038 Great Basin sagebrush

K039 Blackbrush

K040 Saltbush-greasewood

K041 Creosote bush

K042 Creosote bush-bur sage

K043 Paloverde-cactus shrub

K044 Creosote bush-tarbush

K045 Ceniza shrub

K046 Desert: vegetation largely lacking

K047 Fescue-oatgrass

K048 California steppe

K049 Tule marshes

K050 Fescue-wheatgrass

K051 Wheatgrass-bluegrass

K052 Alpine meadows and barren

K053 Grama-galleta steppe

K054 Grama-tobosa prairie

K055 Sagebrush steppe

K056 Wheatgrass-needlegrass shrubsteppe

K057 Galleta-threeawn shrubsteppe

K058 Grama-tobosa shrubsteppe

K059 Trans-Pecos shrub savanna

K060 Mesquite savanna

K061 Mesquite-acacia savanna

K062 Mesquite-live oak savanna

K063 Foothills prairie

K064 Grama-needlegrass-wheatgrass

K065 Grama-buffalo grass

K066 Wheatgrass-needlegrass

K067 Wheatgrass-bluestem-needlegrass

K068 Wheatgrass-grama-buffalo grass

K069 Bluestem-grama prairie

K070 Sandsage-bluestem prairie

K071 Shinnery

K072 Sea oats prairie

K073 Northern cordgrass prairie

K074 Bluestem prairie

K075 Nebraska Sandhills prairie

K076 Blackland prairie

K077 Bluestem-sacahuista prairie

K078 Southern cordgrass prairie

K079 Palmetto prairie

K080 Marl everglades

K081 Oak savanna

K082 Mosaic of K074 and K100

K083 Cedar glades

K084 Cross Timbers

K085 Mesquite-buffalo grass

K086 Juniper-oak savanna

K087 Mesquite-oak savanna

K088 Fayette prairie

K089 Black Belt

K090 Live oak-sea oats

K091 Cypress savanna

K092 Everglades

K093 Great Lakes spruce-fir forest

K094 Conifer bog

K095 Great Lakes pine forest

K096 Northeastern spruce-fir forest

K097 Southeastern spruce-fir forest

K098 Northern floodplain forest

K099 Maple-basswood forest

K100 Oak-hickory forest

K101 Elm-ash forest

K102 Beech-maple forest

K103 Mixed mesophytic forest

K104 Appalachian oak forest

K105 Mangrove

K106 Northern hardwoods

K107 Northern hardwoods-fir forest

K108 Northern hardwoods-spruce forest

K109 Transition between K104 and K106

K110 Northeastern oak-pine forest

K111 Oak-hickory-pine

K112 Southern mixed forest

K113 Southern floodplain forest

K114 Pocosin

K115 Sand pine scrub

K116 Subtropical pine forest

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This species is known to occur in association with the following Rangeland Cover Types (as classified by the Society for Range Management, SRM):

More info for the terms: association, cover, forb, forest, fresh, grassland, hardwood, herb, marsh, shrub, shrubland, swamp, tundra, tussock, vine, woodland

SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES [120]:




101 Bluebunch wheatgrass

102 Idaho fescue

103 Green fescue

104 Antelope bitterbrush-bluebunch wheatgrass

105 Antelope bitterbrush-Idaho fescue

106 Bluegrass scabland

107 Western juniper/big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass

108 Alpine Idaho fescue

109 Ponderosa pine shrubland

110 Ponderosa pine-grassland

201 Blue oak woodland

202 Coast live oak woodland

203 Riparian woodland

204 North coastal shrub

205 Coastal sage shrub

206 Chamise chaparral

207 Scrub oak mixed chaparral

208 Ceanothus mixed chaparral

209 Montane shrubland

210 Bitterbrush

211 Creosote bush scrub

212 Blackbush

213 Alpine grassland

214 Coastal prairie

215 Valley grassland

216 Montane meadows

217 Wetlands

301 Bluebunch wheatgrass-blue grama

302 Bluebunch wheatgrass-Sandberg bluegrass

303 Bluebunch wheatgrass-western wheatgrass

304 Idaho fescue-bluebunch wheatgrass

305 Idaho fescue-Richardson needlegrass

306 Idaho fescue-slender wheatgrass

307 Idaho fescue-threadleaf sedge

308 Idaho fescue-tufted hairgrass

309 Idaho fescue-western wheatgrass

310 Needle-and-thread-blue grama

311 Rough fescue-bluebunch wheatgrass

312 Rough fescue-Idaho fescue

313 Tufted hairgrass-sedge

314 Big sagebrush-bluebunch wheatgrass

315 Big sagebrush-Idaho fescue

316 Big sagebrush-rough fescue

317 Bitterbrush-bluebunch wheatgrass

318 Bitterbrush-Idaho fescue

319 Bitterbrush-rough fescue

320 Black sagebrush-bluebunch wheatgrass

321 Black sagebrush-Idaho fescue

322 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany-bluebunch wheatgrass

323 Shrubby cinquefoil-rough fescue

324 Threetip sagebrush-Idaho fescue

401 Basin big sagebrush

402 Mountain big sagebrush

403 Wyoming big sagebrush

404 Threetip sagebrush

405 Black sagebrush

406 Low sagebrush

407 Stiff sagebrush

408 Other sagebrush types

409 Tall forb

410 Alpine rangeland

411 Aspen woodland

412 Juniper-pinyon woodland

413 Gambel oak

414 Salt desert shrub

415 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany

416 True mountain-mahogany

417 Littleleaf mountain-mahogany

418 Bigtooth maple

419 Bittercherry

420 Snowbrush

421 Chokecherry-serviceberry-rose

422 Riparian

501 Saltbush-greasewood

502 Grama-galleta

503 Arizona chaparral

504 Juniper-pinyon pine woodland

505 Grama-tobosa shrub

506 Creosotebush-bursage

507 Palo verde-cactus

508 Creosotebush-tarbush

509 Transition between oak-juniper woodland and mahogany-oak association

601 Bluestem prairie

602 Bluestem-prairie sandreed

603 Prairie sandreed-needlegrass

604 Bluestem-grama prairie

605 Sandsage prairie

606 Wheatgrass-bluestem-needlegrass

607 Wheatgrass-needlegrass

608 Wheatgrass-grama-needlegrass

609 Wheatgrass-grama

610 Wheatgrass

611 Blue grama-buffalo grass

612 Sagebrush-grass

613 Fescue grassland

614 Crested wheatgrass

615 Wheatgrass-saltgrass-grama

701 Alkali sacaton-tobosagrass

702 Black grama-alkali sacaton

703 Black grama-sideoats grama

704 Blue grama-western wheatgrass

705 Blue grama-galleta

706 Blue grama-sideoats grama

707 Blue grama-sideoats grama-black grama

708 Bluestem-dropseed

709 Bluestem-grama

710 Bluestem prairie

711 Bluestem-sacahuista prairie

712 Galleta-alkali sacaton

713 Grama-muhly-threeawn

714 Grama-bluestem

715 Grama-buffalo grass

716 Grama-feathergrass

717 Little bluestem-Indiangrass-Texas wintergrass

718 Mesquite-grama

719 Mesquite-liveoak-seacoast bluestem

720 Sand bluestem-little bluestem (dunes)

721 Sand bluestem-little bluestem (plains)

722 Sand sagebrush-mixed prairie

723 Sea oats

724 Sideoats grama-New Mexico feathergrass-winterfat

725 Vine mesquite-alkali sacaton

726 Cordgrass

727 Mesquite-buffalo grass

728 Mesquite-granjeno-acacia

729 Mesquite

730 Sand shinnery oak

731 Cross timbers-Oklahoma

732 Cross timbers-Texas (little bluestem-post oak)

733 Juniper-oak

734 Mesquite-oak

735 Sideoats grama-sumac-juniper

801 Savanna

802 Missouri prairie

803 Missouri glades

804 Tall fescue

805 Riparian

806 Gulf Coast salt marsh

807 Gulf Coast fresh marsh

808 Sand pine scrub

809 Mixed hardwood and pine

810 Longleaf pine-turkey oak hills

811 South Florida flatwoods

812 North Florida flatwoods

813 Cutthroat seeps

814 Cabbage palm flatwoods

815 Upland hardwood hammocks

816 Cabbage palm hammocks

817 Oak hammocks

818 Florida salt marsh

819 Freshwater marsh and ponds

820 Everglades flatwoods

821 Pitcher plant bogs

822 Slough

ALASKA RANGELANDS

901 Alder

902 Alpine herb

903 Beach wildrye-mixed forb

904 Black spruce-lichen

905 Bluejoint reedgrass

906 Broadleaf forest

908 Fescue

910 Hairgrass

912 Low scrub shrub birch-ericaceous

915 Mixed herb-herbaceous

917 Tall shrub swamp

918 Tussock tundra

920 White spruce-paper birch

921 Willow

More info for the terms: herb, root crown, seed

While in the rosette stage, herb sophia may be top-killed by fire. If the root crown is not damaged, herb sophia rosettes can sprout  new basal leaves from the root crown. As an annual with a single stem, herb sophia lacks adaptations for regrowth once it has bolted [2,39], and plants burned after the rosette stage are killed. Research on fire's impact to the seed bank is lacking as of this writing (2003), but it appears that fire has little effect on herb sophia seed populations. Herb sophia has tiny seeds [32,51,64,106] that easily fall into fire-safe microsites such as soil crevices. While fire is likely to kill some seed, its overall effect to the herb sophia seed bank is probably negligible.

More info for the terms: density, fire management, herb, interference, litter, natural, restoration, seed, shrubland, succession

Impacts: The greatest impact of flixweed and other tansymustards to wildlands is probably their role in facilitating succession. See Successional Status for further information.

Herb sophia invades rangelands disturbed by heavy grazing [105]. It is a common volunteer on restoration and rehabilitation projects [122,143].

Herb sophia is a crop pest [89] and an alternate host for beet leafhoppers, which transmit curly top virus to sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) crops [65].

Control: Herb sophia does not usually persist in late-seral communities and may not require special control measures. Canopy closure, litter accumulation and/or growth interference from later-successional species tend to exclude tansymustard over time. For example, herb sophia volunteered between rough fescue sod patches on a restoration project in Alberta. As the rough fescue grew and litter accumulated, herb sophia became less abundant [108]. Perhaps because it is largely controlled by succession, there is scant wildland-management interest in using resource monies to control flixweed tansymustard with fire, herbicides, or other treatments.

Prevention/Cultural: Since herb sophia is an early seral species, minimizing soil disturbance and seed dispersal and maintaining a healthy plant community is the best way to prevent establishment of herb sophia [25].

Integrated management: Land management practices that promote later-successional species can exclude herb sophia from most plant communities [25]. Some communities, such as sagebrush steppe and salt-desert shrubland, maintain open light and bare ground conditions well into late succession [81]. For these communities, herb sophia is controlled by eliminating seed production until the seed bank is depleted. Mechanical treatment or herbicide application prior to seed set treats established plants [25]. Managers are encouraged to use combinations of control techniques that are appropriate to the site objectives, desired plant community, available resources, and timing of application. For information on integrated weed management without herbicides, see the Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC) website.

Physical/mechanical: Small infestations of herb sophia can be controlled by hand pulling rosettes in the fall or early spring [25].

Fire: See Fire Management Considerations.

Biological: There are no biological control organisms reported for herb sophia [25].

Chemical: Herbicides are effective in gaining initial control of a new invasion or a severe infestation, but are rarely a complete or long-term solution to weed management [24]. Herbicides are more effective on large infestations when incorporated into long-term management plans that include replacement of weeds with desirable species, careful land use management, and prevention of new infestations. Control with herbicides is temporary, as it does not change those conditions that allow infestations to occur [157]. See the Weed Control Methods Handbook for considerations on the use of herbicides in natural areas and detailed information on specific chemicals.

Herb sophia seedlings are sensitive to most herbicides at relatively low application rates. Glyphosate and 2,4-D give excellent control [135,148], as do many other herbicides [148]. Herbicide choice and rates are influenced by growth stage, stand density, and environmental conditions (e.g. drought or cold temperatures). Check with state or county weed specialists for appropriate local use rates and timing.

More info for the terms: cover, forbs, herb

Herb sophia is toxic to livestock, causing blindness, staggering, and loss of ability to swallow. All parts of the plant contain poisonous levels of nitrate [43,123]. The seeds contain poisonous isoallyl thiocyanates and irritant oils. Large quantities of the plant must be consumed for long periods of time for poisoning to occur [43].

Wildlife use of flixweed and other tansymustards is poorly documented, and further studies are needed to determine the relative importance of tansymustards in animal communities.

Small mammals: Townsend's ground squirrels graze tansymustards, sometimes in large quantity. Spring use of tansymustard has ranged from 3% on the Snake River Birds of Prey Area in southwestern Idaho to 33% in eastern Washington [71,111,154].

Birds: Sage-grouse in Nevada grazed most of the early spring forbs in a big sagebrush community, but avoided herb sophia [117]. In free-choice trials, chukar preferred pinnate tansymustard seeds to cheatgrass seeds, which form the main staple of their diet [155].

Herb sophia is a larval food for orangetip, white checkered, and white cabbage butterflies [68].

Palatability/nutritional value: Herb sophia is moderately palatable to livestock, although livestock may prefer other tansymustard species. In free-choice trials, cattle in Montana selected pinnate tansymustard more often than herb sophia [99].

Cover value: No information

More info for the terms: frequency, herb, natural, taiga, tundra

Herb sophia grows in a broad spectrum of environments ranging from
cold desert, tundra, taiga, alpine, and subalpine ecosystems to hot desert and
dry-tropical Hawaiian ecosystems [72].

Herb sophia is ecologically important in most North American desert
ecosystems. In Great
Basin Desert communities of east-central Nevada, it showed 25-40% frequency in
big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) communities and 5-66% frequency in singleleaf pinyon-Utah juniper
(Pinus monophylla-Juniperus osteosperma) communities [18].
On the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area in the Mojave Desert, southern California,
herb sophia associates with creosotebush (Larrea tridentata), white
bursage (Ambrosia dumosa), and other annuals, the most common being
cutleaf filaree (Erodium cicutarium), red brome (Bromus madritensis
ssp. rubens), and Mediterranean grass
(Schismus spp.) [20].



A few vegetation classifications describe plant communities dominated by
herb sophia.  A herb sophia-Russian-thistle (Salsola
kali) community
occurs in Lava
Beds National Monument, California, on land with a history of extreme
disturbance: 1st by lake drainage, then by cultivation of the lakebed
[36]. In east-central Nevada, herb sophia communities occur on
highly disturbed winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata) habitat types. Halogeton (Halogeton glomerata)
codominates, and winterfat is present in trace amounts [18].

More info for the term: forb

Forb

More info for the term: herb

Herb sophia seeds have a flavor similar to commercial black mustard (Brassica nigra) seeds, and are used as a spice [32]. The Navajo used ground herb sophia seeds in baked goods [140]. The stems and leaves are used as fiber in India [139]

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More info for the terms: cotyledon, herb, seed

Germination usually begins in winter or early spring [134,135], depending upon latitude and elevation. Herb sophia is 1 of the 1st plants to appear in spring. After the cotyledon stage, the seedling forms a rosette of basal leaves, then grows the stem and cauline leaves [64]. Fall-germinating seeds overwinter as rosettes [16]. In the United States, herb sophia 1st flowers in the Southeast [106,130]. Phenological events by region are:

Region Event Period Southeast anthesis Feb.-Aug. [106,130] Southwest anthesis March-July [73] Pacific Northwest anthesis March-July [67] Northeast anthesis May-July [48] Great Plains anthesis northern: mid-June-late July [49,96] southern: March-Sept. [32] Great Lakes anthesis June-Aug. [90] fruits ripen June-early Sept.  [96]

Herb sophia 1st sheds pollen in mid-May in North Dakota. Average flowering date is May 28th, with flowering ranging from mid-May to early June [125]. Over an 8-year period in western North Dakota, herb sophia began 1st bloom from mid-June to late July. Mean total growth was completed in June [49]. Similarly, May 30th was the mean flowering date over a 7-year period in Saskatchewan. Across years, flowering extended from mid-May to late July [22].

Fruits ripen in summer or early fall, and plants begin to dry out and die at that time. Fruits burst and disperse seed as the plant dries [152,153].

More info for the terms: cover, density, forbs, herb, litter, mesic, seed, succession

Herb sophia establishes from soil-stored seed after fire [2,39], reaching greatest density in early postfire succession [13,95]. Banked seed usually germinates and establishes in postfire years 1 or 2. The postfire population increases rapidly, and by postfire years 2 to 4, localized, dense stands of herb sophia may form [13,39]. In pinyon-juniper (Pinus-Juniperus spp.) stands of Nevada and Utah, for example, herb sophia appears in early successional years along with other annual herbs [13,102]. Herb sophia density decreases as postfire succession continues, although herb sophia may persist in low numbers in late-successional burns that have retained an open canopy [13,14].

In big sagebrush communities that have experienced fire or other disturbance that removes the sagebrush, herb sophia commonly dominates or is an important component of the initial postfire community. Along with flixweed tansymustard, Russian-thistle, pinnate tansymustard, and/or tumblemustard form the initial plant community, which is dominated by annuals. Cheatgrass may be part of the initial community in mesic environments. On dry sites, it may follow successionally soon after the annual forbs [101], when litter has created a seedbed favorable for cheatgrass germination [37,38].

Although fire creates an open canopy and bare mineral soil, which favors flixweed tansymustard establishment, herb sophia is not an obligate "fire follower." Any area with bare ground, open sunlight, and a seed source is vulnerable to herb sophia invasion [60,61].

Grazing: Few studies have focused on the interactive effects of fire and grazing on herb sophia. One study suggests that fire and grazing may reduce postfire cover of annuals more than fire alone, but the results are inconclusive for herb sophia. Russian-thistle, herb sophia, and prickly-lettuce (Lactuca serriola) were the 3 most important annual forbs, respectively, on a Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis)-green rabbitbrush burn in central Utah. The 3 annual forbs showed greatest coverage on ungrazed, burned sites (~50%), slightly less cover on grazed, burned sites (~45%), and least cover on grazed, unburned sites (~27%). (Data are pooled means for the 3 forbs over 12 postfire years) [146]. Further studies are needed to understand how combined fire and grazing affect herb sophia.

More info for the terms: ground residual colonizer, initial off-site colonizer

POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY [127]:
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
Initial off-site colonizer (off-site, initial community)

More info for the terms: herb, seed

Herb sophia reproduces solely from seed [114,126].

Breeding system: Mustards (Brassicaceae) are cross-pollinated. Selfing also occurs [63].

Pollination is insect-mediated. The sepals contain nectaries that attract insect pollinators [63].

Seed production: Herb sophia produces an average of 75-650 seeds per plant [124]. A large plant may produce upwards of 700,000 seeds [114].

Seed dispersal: Wind, water, machinery, and animals transport herb sophia seed, although most seed falls near the parent plant [114]. Animals disperse tansymustard seeds when the mucilaginous seedcoat sticks to feathers or fur [155].

Seed banking: Herb sophia builds up a soil seed bank [2,5,39,149]. The seed bank can be large: Stevens [126] documented a herb sophia seed population of 704,582/m2 in North Dakota soil. Herb sophia was an important component of the soil seed pool (all spp.) in big sagebrush-green rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) of southwestern Wyoming [30]. On the Nevada Test Site near Las Vegas, herb sophia was the 2nd most common species to emerge on irrigated and unirrigated test plots; red brome was most common [149]. Long-term viability of flixweed tansymustard seed is unknown, but the seed is reported to remain viable for "considerable periods in the soil" [114]. Buried flixweed seed remained viable at least 4 years in Fairbanks, Alaska. Seed viability generally dropped with years of soil storage [26]:

0 years 2.7 years 3.7 years 4.7 years 67% 28% 36% 10%

Germination: Herb sophia shows good germination [27], with a mean rate of about 70% [114]. Seed collected in Alberta showed 75% germination after cold storage/stratification. In another aspect of the study, some seeds from the lot survived digestion by ruminant grazers or short-term silage. Three percent of ingested seed germinated after 1 day in a cow's rumen, and seed stored in the bottom of a barley (Hordeum vulgare)-filled silo for 8 weeks showed 2% germination [19].

Herb sophia is adapted to establishing in dry environments. The seedcoat of tansymustards forms a thin layer of mucilage after wetting [64,155]; the mucilaginous layer helps germinating seeds retain water [155].

Seedling establishment/growth: The taproot exploits moisture in the upper soil layer [29,152,153], and uncrowded plants develop rapidly. Plants may develop numerous leaves and up to 15 lateral, fruit-bearing branches at maturity [16].

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This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS [15]:




1 Northern Pacific Border

2 Cascade Mountains

3 Southern Pacific Border

4 Sierra Mountains

5 Columbia Plateau

6 Upper Basin and Range

7 Lower Basin and Range

8 Northern Rocky Mountains

9 Middle Rocky Mountains

10 Wyoming Basin

11 Southern Rocky Mountains

12 Colorado Plateau

13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont

14 Great Plains

15 Black Hills Uplift

16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

(key to state/province abbreviations)
UNITED STATES AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY DC PR VI
CANADA AB BC MB NB NF NT NS NU ON PE PQ SK YK
MEXICO B.C.N.

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More info for the terms: fire management, forbs, herb, litter, reclamation, seed, succession

Herb sophia occurs in early seral communities. It is common on disturbed ground [36,39,60,61,95,128,136]. For example, in a big sagebrush community in northwestern Colorado, herb sophia appeared the 1st year after bulldozing, showing mean productivity of 1 g/m2. Productivity peaked at postdisturbance year 2, and declined for the next 5 years. Herb sophia was present in only trace amounts on undisturbed control plots. It showed the same pattern of succession on plots that were fertilized with nitrogen after bulldozing, except productivity was greater on fertilized plots compared to unfertilized plots (15 vs. 5 g/m2 at postdisturbance year 2) [84]. On oilfields of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, herb sophia was among the most important forbs 5 to 8 years after exploratory drilling [83]. Herb sophia is nonmycorrhizal [98]; thus, it is able to pioneer on sterile sites or on sites undergoing primary succession [3,17].

A common pattern of succession in disturbed sagebrush steppe begins with Russian-thistle. Herb sophia, pinnate tansymustard, and/or tumblemustard (Sisymbrium altissimum) soon follow successionally. Russian-thistle may in turn reinvade the mustard stands with grazing disturbance, but more commonly, the mustards are succeeded by cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) [66,101,152]. In desert environments, cheatgrass usually requires litter for successful germination and establishment. Dried skeletons of herb sophia and other annual forbs may facilitate cheatgrass establishment by providing litter [37,38]. For information on the interactions of herb sophia and cheatgrass, see Fire Management Considerations and the FEIS review on cheatgrass.

Herb sophia is uncommon to absent in late seres [115]. In central Saskatchewan, herb sophia occurred in fallow and recently harvested wheat (Triticum aestivum) fields. It was not present, or found in seed bank soil samples, of adjacent undisturbed shortbristle need-and-thread-western wheatgrass (Hesperostipa curtiseta-Pascopyrum smithii) prairie [5]. On strip-mined sites in south-central Alaska, herb sophia volunteered on revegetated reclamation sites, but was absent by posttreatment year 10 [34]. Herb sophia is most likely to persist in communities that retain unlittered soil and open canopies into late succession. In singleleaf pinyon-Colorado pinyon (Pinus edulis)-Utah juniper communities of west-central Utah, where litter build-up can be slow, herb sophia occurred on burns in early to late stages of succession (3-100+ years), but was most common on new burns [13]. On mixed-grass prairies in Wyoming, which are likely to build up litter quickly, herb sophia was common for ~10 years postdisturbance, then became increasing scarce [115].

Flixweed tansymustard and the native pinnate tansymustard are apparently equally invasive, and fill similar ecological niches [89].

More info for the term: herb

The scientific name of herb sophia is Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb ex Prantl
(Brassicaceae) [32,48,51,64,69,90,106,130,133,142,145,147].

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Descurainia sophia.

Descurainia sophia is a member of the family Brassicaceae. Common names include flixweed, herb-Sophia and tansy mustard. It reproduces by seeds. It is a dominant weed in dark brown prairie and black prairie soils of southern Alberta. Its stem is erect, branched, and 4–30 in (10–76 cm) high. It was once given to patients with dysentery and called by ancient herbalists Sophia Chirurgorum, "The Wisdom of Surgeons". It is the type species of the genus Descurainia (named for French botanist and herbalist François Descurain (1658–1749)) and of the rejected genus Sophia Adans.