E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Lepidium latifolium L.
broad-leaved pepper-grass (broadleaved pepperweed; dittander)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Lepidium latifolium
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial from widely spreading underground root system; stems numerous, ascending, 0.5-2.0 m tall; glabrous (or almost).

Leaves:
Basal leaves entire to evenly toothed, up to 30 cm long, 6-8 cm wide, stalks nearly equaling blades; stem leaves reduced, narrower (1-4 cm wide), lower stalked, upper unstalked.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of dense clusters in a large, dense pyramidal panicle; flowers minute; petals white, to twice length of sepals; sepals less than 1 mm long, oval to egg-shaped, widely white-margined.

Fruits:
Silicles, orbicular, about 2 mm long, sparsely soft-hairy, unnotched or slightly notched at the tips; stalks longer than silicles, round in cross section, glabrous or sparsely hairy; beaks nearly obsolete.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Wet to mesic beaches, tidal shores, fields, roadsides and waste places; rare in SW and SE BC, known from Vancouver and Windermere; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Cardaria latifolia (L.) Spach

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Brassicaceae
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-09 12:53:03 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.