Virginia Pepperweed

Brassicaceae

LIFE FORM: Annual

NATIVITY: Eastern North America

VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS:

Basal rosette of finely toothed leaves produce erect, flowering stems anywher from 6 inches to 2 feet tall.

FLOWERS:

Small white to greenish flowers are produced in dense racemes on long stalks.

FRUIT/DISPERSAL AGENTS:

Plants produce copious seeds which germinate in early fall; densely clustered fruit collectively produce a bottle-brush appearance.

ECOLOGICAL PREFERENCE:

Trampled lawns in public parks; neglected residential and commercial landscapes; minimally maintained public parks and open space; vacant lots and rubble dump sites; abandoned grasslands (meadows); unmowed highway banks and median strips with frequent salt applications.

ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTION:

Disturbance-adapted colonizer.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:

This native American species has become a weed in Europe; used medicinally by native Americans.