Lepidium latifolium L.
broad-leaved pepper-grass (broadleaved pepperweed; dittander)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
broad-leaved pepper-grass (broadleaved pepperweed; dittander)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
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.
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
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.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Cardaria latifolia (L.) Spach