Lepidium virginicum

Virginia pepperweed

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Native

Virginia pepperweed is a native annual herb found in various California habitats, typically growing in open areas and disturbed sites. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces small white flowers less than 3 millimeters wide in delicate elongated clusters. Growing with erect branching stems 15 to 55 centimeters tall, it develops multiple stems from its base with a somewhat open, spreading growth habit. Its leaves are distinctive, ranging from obovate or spoon-shaped to oblanceolate, with lower leaves often pinnately lobed or toothed while upper leaves tend to be narrower and more entire. The small round fruits are winged at the tip, each about 3 to 4 millimeters long and containing a single seed.

California counties: Los Angeles, Mono, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Tulare, Fresno, Plumas, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Orange, Kern, El Dorado, Calaveras, Nevada, Alpine, Sierra, Santa Barbara, Siskiyou, Santa Clara, Lassen, Marin, Humboldt, Ventura, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Amador, Modoc, Contra Costa, Sonoma, Shasta, Butte, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Placer, Tuolumne, Inyo, Mariposa, Stanislaus

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.