Taxon:  Lepidium sativum L.



Summary
Genus:
Lepidium
Family:
Brassicaceae (alt. Cruciferae)
Tribe:
Lepidieae
Nomen number:
21769
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 2:644.  1753
Verified:
10/15/2010 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
126 (83  active, 74  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Lepidium spinescens DC.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)
Seed

Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
  2. PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
  3. Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
  4. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
  5. Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
  6. Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
  7. APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
  8. Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
  9. Chaudhary, S. A. 1987. Weeds of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula.
  10. CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
  11. Cronquist, A. et al. 1972-. Intermountain flora.
  12. Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
  13. Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
  14. Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 1506.
  15. FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
  16. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  17. George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
  18. Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
  19. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
  20. Hewson, H. J. 1981. The genus Lepidium L. (Brassicaceae) in Australia. Brunonia 4:229.
  21. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
  22. Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
  23. International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
  24. Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
  25. Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
  26. Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
  27. Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000-. Flora of Siberia (English translation)
  28. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
  29. Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
  30. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
  31. McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
  32. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
  33. Miller, A. G. & T. A. Cope. 1996-. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.
  34. Mouterde, P. 1966-. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie.
  35. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
  36. Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
  37. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  38. Quézel, P. & S. Santa. 1962-1963. Nouvelle flore de l'Algerie.
  39. Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
  40. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
  41. Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
  42. Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
  43. Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
  44. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
  45. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1993. Flora europaea, ed. 2.
  46. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
  47. Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
  48. Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
Englishgarden cress  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Englishpepperwort  1Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 1506.
Englishtongue cress  1Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Englishtown cress  1Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Arabichabb al-rashad  2Chaudhary, S. A. 1987. Weeds of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula.
Arabicrashad  2Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
Frenchcresson alénois  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
GermanGartenkresse  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Italianagretto  2International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Italiancrescione inglese  2International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Portugueseagrião  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguesemastruço  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanishberro de huerta  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedishsmörgåskrasse  2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transcribed Chinesejia du xing cai  2Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEthiopia  Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaEgypt  Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaKuwait  Miller, A. G. & T. A. Cope. 1996-. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaOman  Miller, A. G. & T. A. Cope. 1996-. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaSaudi Arabia  Miller, A. G. & T. A. Cope. 1996-. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaUnited Arab Emirates  Miller, A. G. & T. A. Cope. 1996-. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaYemen  Miller, A. G. & T. A. Cope. 1996-. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaAfghanistan  Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIran  Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIraq  Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIsrael  Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaJordan  Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaLebanon  Mouterde, P. 1966-. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaSyria  Mouterde, P. 1966-. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaTurkey  Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentPakistan  Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
2Cultivated    widely cult.Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1993. Flora europaea, ed. 2.
4NaturalizedAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya  Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChina  Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaJapan  Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4NaturalizedAustralasiaNew ZealandNew Zealand  Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
4NaturalizedNorthern America Canada  FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4NaturalizedNorthern America United States  FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificNew Caledonia  Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaArgentina  Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaChile  Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
Native
Africa
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Egypt
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia
Asia-Temperate
  • ARABIAN PENINSULA: United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen
  • WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Pakistan
Cultivated (widely cult.)
Naturalized
Africa
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya
Asia-Temperate
  • CHINA: China
  • EASTERN ASIA: Japan
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
  • NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand
Northern America
  • REGION: Canada, United States
Pacific
  • SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: New Caledonia
Southern America
  • SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile

Reference(s)
  1. Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
  2. Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
  3. FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
  4. Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
  5. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
  6. Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
  7. Miller, A. G. & T. A. Cope. 1996-. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.
  8. Mouterde, P. 1966-. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie.
  9. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
  10. Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
  11. Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
  12. Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
  13. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
  14. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1993. Flora europaea, ed. 2.
  15. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
  16. Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
  17. Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Human foodvegetablefor saladsMabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Medicinesfolklore Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Weedseed contaminantpotentialCIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=21769. Accessed 12 May 2026.