Lepidium ruderale
L.
Narrow Leaved Peppergrass, Rroadside pepperweed
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Michal Ducháček, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Michal Ducháček
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Sebastian J. Dunkl, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Sebastian J. Dunkl
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Илья Сухов, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Илья Сухов
Description
Lepidium ruderale is a ANNUAL/BIENNIAL growing to 0.3 m (1ft). It is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to July. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Edible Uses
Young leaves - raw or cooked. A hot cress-like flavour.
Medicinal Uses
Hypotensive Skin. The plant is used in the treatment of impetigo. An aqueous extract of the herb causes a drop in blood pressure and depresses respiration.
Distribution
Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to the Mediterranean and southwest Asia.
Where It Grows
TEMPERATE ASIA: Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Israel (introd.?), Turkey, Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia (Ciscaucasia), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation (Dagestan), Russian Federation (Buryatia, Yakutia-Sakha, Altay, Krasnoyarsk (south), Irkutsk, Kemerovskaja oblast, Kurganskaja oblast, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Tyumen (south)), Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, China (Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu) TROPICAL ASIA: India (Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu) EUROPE: Denmark, Finland (south), Norway (south), Sweden (south), Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Russian Federation (European part), Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym), Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, France
Cultivation
An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils.
Propagation
Seed - sow spring or late summer in situ. The seed should germinate within 3 weeks.
