Hello Deb,

I first thought that your photos looked like the seed pods of hairy bittercress, a member of the mustard family. However, if you just pulled that from your lawn, it cannot be hairy bittercress. Hairy bittercress is a winter annual, meaning that it germinates in the late summer or early fall and overwinters as a small rosette. In the spring it grows quickly, blooms and goes to seed.

I asked a colleague at MSU and she said it looks like it could be a wallflower species (Erysimum spp.). Unfortunately, there are annuals, biennials, and perennials in this genus. Without the leaves of the plant it is difficult to give a better diagnosis.

For a definitive identification you can send a sample to the MSU Diagnostic Labs. The site below gives the fee structure and how to take a good sample: https://www.canr.msu.edu/pestid/

If you take some photos of the weed in the lawn (including any leaf structures), you can send the pictures in this question and the pictures of the weed in the lawn to <personal data hidden>. There is no charge for this identification service.

Hope this helps.