Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Lepidium aschersonii
Common name
Spiny Peppercress
Family
Brassicaceae
Where found
Dry forest, woodland, mallee, paddocks, and disturbed sites. Western Slopes.
Notes
Perennial herb to 0.3 m high. Smaller branches ending in a spine. Stems tangled, hairy. Leaves basal and alternating up the stems, hairy with fine hairs. Basal leaves deeply lobed, to 12 cm long; stem leaves becoming smaller in size up the stems, margins toothed to entire, bases auriculate, tips pointed to narrowly tapering. Flowers small, with 4 sepals about 0.7 mm long, and 4 reduced linear petals. Flowers in elongated clusters terminating in a spine. Flowers spring to autumn. Seed cases oval to round, 3.5–4.5 mm long, 2.5–3 mm wide, hairless, with narrow wings in the upper half, tips notched. (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see.) Stalks of seed cases about 4 mm long, spreading, hairy with fine hairs.
Vulnerable Australia. Vulnerable NSW. Provisions of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 No 63 relating to the protection of protected plants generally also apply to plants that are a threatened species.
Endangered Vic. Listed in Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act Vic.
NSW Threatened Species profile with photos: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedSpeciesApp/profile.aspx?id=10461 (accessed 6 January, 2021)
PlantNET Description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Lepidium~aschersonii (accessed 6 January, 2021)
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