Lepidium ruderale L.

Narrow-leaved pepperwort (en), Passerage rudéral (fr), Passerage rudérale (fr), Passerage des décombres (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Brassicales > Brassicaceae > Lepidium

Characteristics

Herbs annual or biennial, (5-)10-35(-55) cm tall, fetid, puberulent with terete papillate trichomes. Stems erect or ascending, branched above. Basal leaves with petioles 1-2(-3) cm; leaf blade (1 or)2-or 3-pinnatisect, (1.5-)3-5(-6) × (0.5-)0.7-2(-2.5) cm, glabrous except for ciliate margin; ultimate lobes oblong, entire or rarely toothed, acute. Upper cauline leaves sessile; leaf blade linear, (0.4-)1-2(-3) cm × (0.3-)0.5-2.5(-3.5) mm, sparsely pubescent, base cuneate, not auriculate, margin usually entire, ciliate, apex obtuse to subacute. Fruiting pedicels slender, divaricate, straight or slightly curved, (1.5-)2-4(-5) mm, puberulent all around. Sepals oblong, 0.5-0.9(-1) × 0.2-0.4 mm, puberulent with papillate trichomes, margin and apex white. Petals absent, sometimes rudimentary and to 0.4 mm. Stamens 2; filaments 0.7-0.8 mm; anthers ovate, 0.1-0.2 mm. Fruit broadly elliptic, (1.5-)1.8-2.5(-3) × 1.5-2(-2.3) mm, narrowly winged apically; apical notch 0.1-0.2 mm; style to 0.1 mm, included in apical notch. Seeds brown, oblong or ovate-oblong, 1-1.5 × 0.6-0.7 mm, wingless, finely papillate; cotyledons incumbent. Fl. and fr. May-Jul. 2n = 16, 32*.
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Annuals or biennials; (fetid); puberulent (trichomes cylind-rical). Stems simple from base, erect ascending, branched (several) distally, (0.5-)1-3.5 (-5.5) dm. Basal leaves rosulate; petiole 1-3.2(-5.3) cm; blade (1-or) 2-or 3-pinnatisect (lobes oblong), (1.5-)3-5(-7.2) cm, margins (of lobes) usually entire, rarely dentate. Cauline leaves sessile; blade linear, (0.4-)1-2(-3) cm × 0.5-2.5(-3.5) mm, base cuneate, not auriculate, margins entire. Racemes considerably elongated in fruit; rachis puberulent, trichomes straight, cylindrical. Fruiting pedicels divaricate to horizontal, straight, (terete), (1.5-)2-4(-5) × 0.1-0.15 mm, puberulent. Flowers: sepals oblong, 0.5-0.9(-1) × 0.2-0.4 mm; petals (absent or rudimentary), white, linear, 0.2-0.5 × 0.1 mm, claw absent; stamens 2, median; filaments 0.7-0.8 mm; anthers 0.1-0.2 mm. Fruits elliptic, (1.5-)1.8-2.5(-3) × 1.5-2(-2.3) mm, apically winged, apical notch 0.1-0.2 mm deep; valves thin, smooth, not veined, glabrous; style obsolete or to 0.1 mm, included in apical notch. Seeds oblong to ovate-oblong, 1-1.5 × 0.6-0.8 mm. 2n = 16, 32.
Foetid, minutely hairy annual or biennial, 2–5 dm; basal lvs commonly bipinnately lobed; lower cauline lvs usually pinnatifid, the upper entire or dentate, rounded or obtuse at the tip; stamens 2; mature racemes loose, with 6–10 frs per cm; fr ovate to elliptic, generally broadest near or below the middle, 2–3 mm, three-fourths as wide, wingless; stigma included in the notch; seeds wingless; 2n=16. Native of Europe, intr. in waste places here and there in our range.
A cabbage family herb. It grows for one or two years. It grows 10-35 cm tall. The leaves at the base have short stalks and higher up they do not have stalks.
Life form annual
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination autogamy
Spread anemochory
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.2 - 0.35
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It grows in sandy soils and pastures between 300-1,100 m above sea level in northern China.
More
Waste places and by waysides, generally by the sea and especially in E. Anglia.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity 4-6
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 4-10

Usage

The leaves are used as a vegetable.
Uses medicinal
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Impetigo (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) 5 - 14
Germination temperacture (C°) 21
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Lepidium ruderale habit picture by Llandrich anna (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Lepidium ruderale leaf picture by Filippo Maroni (cc-by-sa)
Lepidium ruderale leaf picture by Henrique Quadros (cc-by-sa)
Lepidium ruderale leaf picture by imazighen imazighen (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Lepidium ruderale flower picture by 22Ben Combes (cc-by-sa)
Lepidium ruderale flower picture by T Thurston (cc-by-sa)
Lepidium ruderale flower picture by echeveria_grey (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Lepidium ruderale fruit picture by Roland Zschuppe (cc-by-sa)
Lepidium ruderale fruit picture by Asuan (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Lepidium ruderale world distribution map, present in Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30265500-2
WFO ID wfo-0000358755
COL ID 6PBC8
BDTFX ID 38554
INPN ID 105671
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Lepidium texanum Thlaspi ruderale Nasturtioides inconspicua Nasturtiastrum ruderale Senckenbergia ruderalis Crucifera ruderalis Thlaspi tenuifolium Iberis ruderalis Lepidium ambiguum Nasturtium ruderale Lepidium glaucescens Lepidium ruderale f. incanum Lepidium virginicum subsp. texanum Lepidium ruderale