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- All other flowering non-woody plants
- All other herbaceous, flowering dicots
- Lepidium sativum
Lepidium sativum — garden pepperweed
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New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
Facts
Garden pepperweed is native to Europe and southwestern Asia, and introduced in other parts of Europe, North America, South America and Australia. It is grown as a salad green, with a flavor similar to water-cress (Nasturtium officinale). It occasionally escapes cultivation throughout New England.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Flower petal color
-
- blue to purple
- pink to red
- white
- Leaf type
-
- the leaves are compound (made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaf arrangement
- alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Number of sepals, petals or tepals
- there are four petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower
- Fusion of sepals and petals
- both the petals and sepals are separate and not fused
- Stamen number
- 6
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
- Fruit length
- 4–7 mm
-
Clonal plantlets
- Bulbils
- the plant does not appear to have bulbils
- Bulblets replace flowers
- there are no bulblets where the flowers are located
-
Flowers
- Anther opening
- the anthers have narrow slits or furrows that run lengthwise along the anthers
- Anther spurs
- the anthers do not have spurs on them
- Calyx symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the calyx (the calyx is radially symmetrical)
- Carpels fused
- the carpels are fused to one another
- Cleistogamous flowers
- there are no cleistogamous flowers on the plan
- Corolla morphology
- NA
- Corolla palate
- no
- Corona lobe length
- 0 mm
- Epicalyx
- the flower does not have an epicalyx
- Epicalyx number of parts
- 0
- Filament surface
- the filament is smooth, with no hairs or scales
- Flower description
- the flower has a superior ovary, and lacks a hypanthium
- Flower petal color
-
- blue to purple
- pink to red
- white
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Flowers sunken into stem
- no
- Form of style
-
- NA
- the style is knob-like at the tip, and unbranched
- Fused stamen clusters
- NA
- Fusion of sepals and petals
- both the petals and sepals are separate and not fused
- Horns in hoods (Asclepias)
- NA
- Hypanthium
- the flower does not have a hypanthium
- Inflorescence one-sided
- the flowers are arrayed in a spiral around the inflorescence axis or branches, or occur singly, or in several ranks
- Inner tepals (Rumex)
- NA
- Nectar spur
- the flower has no nectar spurs
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Number of sepals, petals or tepals
- there are four petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower
- Ovary position
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal and sepal colors
-
- blue to purple
- pink to red
- white
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal folds or pleats
- the petals of the flower do not have folds or plaits
- Petal hairs (Viola)
- NA
- Petal number
- 4
- Petal tips (Cuscuta)
- NA
- Reproductive system
- all the flowers have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)
- Scales inside corolla
- no
- Sepal and petal color
- the sepals are different from the petals
- Sepal appendages
- the sepals do not have appendages on them
- Sepal appendages (Oenothera)
- NA
- Sepal number
- 4
- Stamen attachment
- the stamens are not attached to the petals or tepals
- Stamen number
- 6
- Stamen position relative to petals
- NA
- Staminodes
- there are no staminodes on the flower
- Umbel flower reproductive parts
- NA
- Upper lip of bilabiate corolla
- NA
-
Fruits or seeds
- Achene relative orientation
- NA
- Achene shape
- NA
- Achene surface (Polygonum)
- NA
- Achene type
- NA
- Berry color
- NA
- Capsule color (Viola)
- NA
- Capsule ribs
- NA
- Capsule splitting
-
- NA
- the capsule splits by two main valves, teeth or pores
- Fruit (pyxis) dehiscence
- NA
- Fruit features (Brassicaceae)
- NA
- Fruit length
- 4–7 mm
- Fruit locules
- two
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is a silicle (similar to a silique, but less than or equal to three times as long as wide)
- Legumes (Fabaceae)
- NA
- Mericarp length
- 0 mm
- Mericarp segment shape (Desmodium)
- NA
- Other markings on berry
- NA
- Ovary stipe
- the ovary or fruit does not have a stipe
- Placenta arrangement
- the plant has parietal placentation, where ovules develop on the wall or slight outgrowths of the wall forming broken partitions within a compound ovary
- Schizocarpic fruit compression
- NA
- Schizocarpic fruit segments
- 0
- Septum in fruit (Brassicaceae)
- The fruit is either not compressed or is compressed parallel to the septum; therefore, the fruit and its septum are about the same width
- Wings on fruit
- the fruit has one or more wings on it
- prickles on fruits
- the fruits do not have thorn-like defensive structures
-
Glands or sap
- Glands on leaf blade
- the leaf blades do not have glandular dots or scales
- Sap
- the sap is clear and watery
- Sap color
- the sap is clear
-
Growth form
- Horizontal rooting stem
- the plant does not have stolons
- Lifespan
- the plant lives only a single year or less
- Parasitism
- the plant is not parasitic
- Plant color
- the leaves or young stems of the plant are green
- Plants darken when dry
- no
- Spines on plant
- the plant has no spines
-
Leaves
- Bracteole number (Apiaceae)
- 0
- Bracts in plantain (Plantago)
- NA
- Hairs on underside of leaf
-
- the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
- the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or it has very few hairs
- Leaf arrangement
- alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Leaf blade base
- the leaf has a distinct leaf stalk (petiole)
- Leaf blade base shape
-
- the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
- the base of the leaf blade is rounded
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- Leaf blade length
- 20–100 mm
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is rhombic (roughly diamond-shaped)
- Leaf blade surface colors
- the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color
- Leaf form
- the leaves are green, with an expanded blade and a leaf-like texture
- Leaf spines
- there are no spines on the leaf edges
- Leaf type
-
- the leaves are compound (made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaflet number
- 0
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
-
- the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis
- the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis, and each lobe itself has rows of lobes on each side of the lobe's central axis
- the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Stipule features
- NA
- Stipules
- there are no stipules on the plant
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- meadows or fields
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Branched tendrils
- NA
- Hairs between stem nodes
-
- the hairs on the stem are plain, without glands or branches, and not tangled
- the stem has no hairs between the nodes
- Hooked hairs on stem between nodes
- no
- Plant height
- 10–100 cm
- Tendril origin
- NA
- Tendrils
- the plant does not have tendrils
Wetland status
Not classified
New England distribution and conservation status
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- not applicable (S-rank: SNA)
Native to North America?
No
Sometimes confused with
- Lepidium virginicum:
- flowers with 2 or rarely 4 stamens and silicles 2–4 mm long, without a wing or winged only in the apical portion (vs. L. sativum, with flowers with 6 stamens and silicles 5–6 mm long, prominently winged).
Family
Genus
From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae
9. Lepidium sativum L. E
garden pepperweed. CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT. Fields, roadsides, gardens, waste areas.