Poor-Man's-Pepper (Peppergrass)

Lepidium virginicum

A native annual or biennial, this plant produces a rosette of lance-shaped leaves at the base. Leaves are 3-4 inches long, up to 3/4 inch wide, and irregularly indented or toothed.  From the basal rosette sprout thin, branching stalks that bear narrow racemes of tiny white flowers; the flowers bloom only at the tip as the shoot extends, leaving behind a ladder of small (1/16 inch) round seeds, which is what one usually sees.  The raceme is about 1/2 inch across and up to 5 inches long. The seeds are peppery to the taste and the young leaves have been used in salads.

1-2 feet, sun - partial sun.

Summer-Autumn (June-October).

The inconspicuous white flowers are so tiny that they are barely visible at the end of the racemes.    

29 June 2020.

Poor-Man's-Pepper or Peppergrass, 7 July 2020.