Lepidium sativum
Tracheophyta
›Magnoliopsida›Cruciferae›Lepidium›Lepidium sativum
Ecology
An annual of waste and ruderal habitats, arising principally from bird-seed and culinary sources, and usually occurring as a casual. Lowland.
Status
Casual
Trends
L. sativum has been grown in gardens since at least 995 (Harvey, 1981) and was known from the wild by about 1860. It is the original `cress` of `mustard-and-cress`, but is now very largely replaced in salads by Brassica napus. There is no indication of a change in frequency in recent years.
World Distribution
Probably native of Egypt and S.W. Asia; as a naturalised or more frequently casual plant it is widespread in Europe and elsewhere.
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JNCC Designations
NBNSYS0000002828
Atlas text references
.
1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories.
Rich (1988b
1991)
.
1997. The new Oxford Book of Food Plants.