Lepidium austrinum
| Lepidium austrinum | |
|---|---|
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| Plant in habitat | |
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| Flowers & fruits | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Brassicaceae |
| Genus: | Lepidium |
| Species: | L. austrinum
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| Binomial name | |
| Lepidium austrinum Small
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| Synonyms | |
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Lepidium austrinum, the southern pepperweed or southern pepperwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae.
Description
[edit]Lepidium austrinum is an herbaceous plant whose leaves early in life form a rosette, but later the stem branches from the base. Under ideal conditions it may reach up to 94 cm (37 inches) in height, and it can behave either as an annual or a biennial. Its stem leaves may be much longer than wide, with the widest portion near the tip, to very narrow. Leaf margins may be smooth to toothed, with leaves at the base deeply lobed. Its very small flowers are white, or sometimes the flowers bear no petals. The fruits are flattened, somewhat rounded in shape, and each bears a conspicuous notch at its tip. One feature distinguishing this species from many other Lepidium species is that its green parts are covered with stiff, moderately long hairs.[2]
Range
[edit]The native area of distribution for Lepidium austrinum is from the central to east-central USA south through the northeastern quarter of Mexico.[1]
Habitat
[edit]Lepidium austrinum occurs in open and disturbed areas with sandy to loamy soils.[3]
Ecology
[edit]A study of the effects of plant secondary compounds, or secondary metabolites, on the food supply of white-tailed deer in the Tamaulipan thorn scrub of northern Mexico (also known as the "Tamaulipan Mezquital" and "Brush Country") found Lepidium austrinum to be consumed by deer in the spring. The plant's "dry matter digestibility" was found to be 65.6% -- about average among the forbs consumed. It's total nitrogen -- an indicator for protein conent -- was 2.4g per 100g-1 dry matter.[4]
Several species of birds feed on the fruit pods.[5]
Uses
[edit]The round seedpods of Lepidium austrinum can add a peppery flavor to salads.[6]
Etymology
[edit]Possibly the genus name Lepidium by Linnaeus originates from the similar plant named Lepidium latifolium by Pliny the Elder (AD 23/24 – 79, long before Linnaeus), which he based on the Greek lepis, for "scale" -- in reference to the vaguely scale-like fruits.[7] However, one wonders about the Latin lepidus, describing something that's pleasant, fine, elegant or neat, [8] which could describe the fruits'peppery taste.
The species name austrinum is from Latin meaning "southern, south."[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Lepidium austrinum Small". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
- ^ Al-Shehbaz, A.; Gaskin, John F. (2010). "Lepidium austrinum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 7. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 19 July 2025 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ Weakley, and Southeastern Flora Team, A.S. (2025). "Brassicaceae". unc.edu. Chapel Hill, U.S.A.: Flora of the southeastern United States Web App. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
- ^ Windels, Steve K.; Hewitt, David G. (July 20, 2025). "Effects of Plant Secondary Compounds on Nutritional Carrying Capacity Estimates of a Browsing Ungulate". Rangeland Ecology & Management. 64 (3). Society for Range Management: 264–274. doi:10.2111/REM-D-10-00078.1. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
- ^ Everitt, James H.; Drawe, D. Lynn; Lonard, Robert (July 1999), Field Guide to the Broad-Leaved Herbaceous Plants of South Texas Used by Livestock and Wildlife, Lubbock, TX, USA: Texas Tech University Press, p. 277, ISBN 9780896724006
- ^ "February 2014" (PDF). The Sabal. 31 (2). Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, USA: Native Plant Project. February 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
- ^ a b "Lepidium L." gov.au. Florabase. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
- ^ "A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin". mobot.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved July 20, 2025.