Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Lepidium bonariense
Common name
Argentine peppercress, Peppercress
Family
Brassicaceae
Where found
Weed. Woodland, pastures, lawns, gardens, crops, footpaths, parks, roadsides, disturbed sites and along streams. Widespread. Mostly Sydney area and the ACT.
Notes
Introuced annual or biennial herb to to 0.50 m high, covered with very short soft hairs. Basal leaves 3–8 cm long, deeply dissected, with 5-7 lobes to 2 mm wide. Stem leaves alternating up the stems, becoming smaller up the stems, to 5 cm long, 1–4 mm wide, compound or dissected to toothed. Flowers tiny, with 4 white petals shorter than the sepals, and 4 sepals 0.5-1 mm long. Flowers in a dense unbranched cluster which elongates in seed. Flowers summer–autumn. Seed cases almost circular, 2–4 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, hairless, with narrow wings in the upper half, tips with an open notch. (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see.) Stalks of seed cases spreading, 2–5 mm long, hairy on the upper surface.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Lepidium~bonariense (accessed 22 January, 2021)
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