Lepidium heterophyllum Benth.
Smith's pepper-grass (purpleanther field pepperweed)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Smith's pepper-grass (purpleanther field pepperweed)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a taproot; stems several, usually ascending, 15-45 cm tall, simple or branched above, stiff-hairy with spreading hairs.
Leaves:
Basal leaves oblanceolate to elliptic, stalked, entire to sparsely toothed; stem leaves oblong to narrowly triangular egg-shaped, toothed with narrow teeth, unstalked, clasping, glabrous to hairy.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of spreading stalks, 3-6 mm long, densely stiff-hairy, slightly flattened; petals white, 2.5-3 mm long, spoon-shaped, claws narrow; sepals about 2 mm long; anthers violet.
Fruits:
Silicles, strongly spreading, oblong, 4-7 mm long, 3-6 mm wide, glabrous or with a few hairs, winged for about 1/3 length, usually with a notch at the tip; segments with few or no vesicles; beaks about 1 mm long, mostly exserted from the shallowly notched tip.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry fields, roadsides and waste places in the lowland zone; infrequent in SW BC, known from S Vancouver Island and the Vancouver area; introduced from Europe.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Lepidium smithii Hook.