Swinecress

Information on Swinecress

Common Name: Swinecress
Scientific Name: Lepidium coronopus
Irish Name: Cladhthach
Family Group: Brassicaceae
Distribution: View Map (Courtesy of the BSBI)
Flowering Period


Click for list of all flowering by month
Swinecress could sometimes be confused with:

Swinecress, Lesser,

This is a prostrate plant which is found on arable land, on tracks and waste ground. It rarely reaches much above 10cm, and bears very small (2-3mm), white flowers in dense racemes. These flowers have 4 petals, which are longer than the sepals, and 6 stamens, all of which have anthers. They are borne on stem tips and in the axils of branches, on spreading stems and flower from May to September. The leaves are light green, deeply pinnate and have coarsely toothed leaflets. The fruit is kidney-shaped and pointed above, with raised ridges. This is an annual or biennial and was probably introduced. It is found, not too commonly, mainly in coastal areas and belongs to the Brassicaceae or Cabbage family.

I first saw this wildflower at Duncannon, Co Wexford in 2011 and photographed it in 2012 at Hook Head, also in Co Wexford. 

If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre

This species seems to favour ground on which it will be frequently trampled, especially gateways into fields. 

Swinecress
Swinecress
Swinecress
Swinecress