Pepperwort
Encyclopedia
Lepidium latifolium, known by several common names including Broadleaved Pepperweed, Pepperwort, or Peppergrass, Dittander, Dittany, and Tall Whitetop, is a perennial plant
that is a member of the mustard and cabbage family
.
This plant is native to southern Europe
, Mediterranean countries and Asia
as far east as the Himalayas
. It is an introduced species
in North America
, where it grows throughout the United States
and Mexico
, and Australia
. It may have been introduced to the United States when its seed got into a shipment of sugar beet
seeds.
L. latifolium normally grows to between 30 centimeters and 1 meter, but may grow as tall as 2 meters. The plants have numerous woody stems, alternating waxy leaves and clusters of small, white flowers. It produces small (1.6 millimeter) fruits which each contain two reddish seeds. It has an extensive root network, known to reach 9 feet in depth and constitute 40% of the total biomass
of the plant.
Dried stems of L. latifolium are sometimes used in flower arrangements.
The plant is most invasive
in wetland
habitat, including riparian zone
; from there it easily spreads to other ecosystems, such as sagebrush
. It is perceived as a threat to salt marsh
es in southern New Hampshire
, United States
, recently prompting the Department of Environmental Services and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to look for it in the Hampton
–Seabrook
Estuary, where it is thought to have spread. The agencies are recruiting volunteers to help look for and properly remove it from this area. It is also a pest in the Monte Vista
and Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge
s in Colorado
and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
in Oregon
, and many other sites.
-like peppery taste which is good for salad
s. The seed pods are sometimes added to stir-frys.
In Ladakh in the Himalayas, the spring leaves are prized as a vegetable. The peppery edge or bitterness is removed by first boiling the young shoots and leaves, and then soaking in water for two days. Cooked like spinach, it makes a rich and delicious vegetable.
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
that is a member of the mustard and cabbage family
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
.
This plant is native to southern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Mediterranean countries and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
as far east as the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. It is an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, where it grows throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It may have been introduced to the United States when its seed got into a shipment of sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
seeds.
L. latifolium normally grows to between 30 centimeters and 1 meter, but may grow as tall as 2 meters. The plants have numerous woody stems, alternating waxy leaves and clusters of small, white flowers. It produces small (1.6 millimeter) fruits which each contain two reddish seeds. It has an extensive root network, known to reach 9 feet in depth and constitute 40% of the total biomass
Biomass (ecology)
Biomass, in ecology, is the mass of living biological organisms in a given area or ecosystem at a given time. Biomass can refer to species biomass, which is the mass of one or more species, or to community biomass, which is the mass of all species in the community. It can include microorganisms,...
of the plant.
Dried stems of L. latifolium are sometimes used in flower arrangements.
The plant is most invasive
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
in wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
habitat, including riparian zone
Riparian zone
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...
; from there it easily spreads to other ecosystems, such as sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
. It is perceived as a threat to salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es in southern New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, recently prompting the Department of Environmental Services and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to look for it in the Hampton
Hampton, New Hampshire
Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,976 at the 2010 census. Located beside the Atlantic Ocean, Hampton is home to Hampton Beach, a summer tourist destination....
–Seabrook
Seabrook, New Hampshire
Seabrook is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 8,693 at the 2010 census. Located at the southern end of the coast of New Hampshire on the border with Massachusetts, Seabrook is noted as the location of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, the third-most...
Estuary, where it is thought to have spread. The agencies are recruiting volunteers to help look for and properly remove it from this area. It is also a pest in the Monte Vista
Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge
Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge located in southern Colorado. The refuge is located in the San Luis Valley approximately 10 miles west of the town of Alamosa in southeastern Rio Grande and western Alamosa counties, in the watershed of the Rio Grande...
and Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge
Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge
The Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge is an United States National Wildlife Refuge located in southern Colorado. The site is located in the San Luis Valley along the east side of the Rio Grande approximately southeast of Alamosa primarily in southeastern Alamosa County, although very small parts...
s in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is located roughly south of the town of Burns, Oregon. The refuge area is roughly T shaped with the southernmost base at Frenchglen, the left top at Malheur Lake and the right top at Harney Lake....
in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and many other sites.
Edible uses
The leaves, shoots, and fruits of this plant are all edible. The leaves are said to have a watercressWatercress
Watercresses are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plants native from Europe to central Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings...
-like peppery taste which is good for salad
Salad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
s. The seed pods are sometimes added to stir-frys.
In Ladakh in the Himalayas, the spring leaves are prized as a vegetable. The peppery edge or bitterness is removed by first boiling the young shoots and leaves, and then soaking in water for two days. Cooked like spinach, it makes a rich and delicious vegetable.