Kingdom Plantae Genus Lepidium Higher classification Coronopus | Order Brassicales Scientific name Coronopus didymus Rank Species | |
Similar Coronopus, Cabbage family, Lepidium virginicum, Lepidium coronopus, Cardamine hirsuta | ||
Lepidium didymum, synonym Coronopus didymus, the lesser swine-cress, is a species of flowering plant in the cabbage and mustard family Brassicaceae.
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Description
Lepidium didymum is an annual or biennial herb with decumbent or ascending and glabrous green stems, up to 40 centimetres (16 in) long, radiating from a central position. The leaves are pinnate and alternate, and can reach a length of 5 cm (2 in). The flowers are inconspicuous, the four white petals very short or absent, with 2 (rarely 4) stamens and the fruits consist of two rounded valves, notched at the apex, with a very short style between. It flowers between July and September.
Distribution
Lepidium didymum is of uncertain origin, but is often cited as native to South America. It has been introduced elsewhere as a weed of cultivation. In Britain it had been recorded from the wild by 1778, chiefly in England and the south of Ireland, growing on cultivated and waste ground, in gardens and lawns, by paths and roadsides.
