Lepidium sativumL.

gardencress pepperweed

WFO wfo-0000358699 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 6 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 6 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Lepidium sativum, photographed by Jerry Lanfear
fig. a Jerry Lanfear, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-03 / obs. 203124779
Lepidium sativum, photographed by Andreas Stiller
fig. b Andreas Stiller, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 51530400
Lepidium sativum, photographed by Wolfgang Jauch
fig. c Wolfgang Jauch, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 27266295
Lepidium sativum, photographed by Martin Scheuch
fig. d Martin Scheuch, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 97484335
Lepidium sativum, photographed by Jerry Lanfear
fig. e Jerry Lanfear, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 203124772
Lepidium sativum, photographed by Wolfgang Jauch
fig. f Wolfgang Jauch, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 27266287
Lepidium sativum, photographed by carnifex
fig. g carnifex, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 122962033
Lepidium sativum, photographed by Markus Krieger
fig. h Markus Krieger, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 78022626

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 42 botanical countries

Regions where Lepidium sativum is native: Egypt, Afghanistan, Gulf States, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Tadzhikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Yemen, Lesser Sunda Is., Pakistan, West Himalaya, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, East European Russia, France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Netherlands, Northwest European Russia, NW. Balkan Pen., Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine EgyptAfghanistanGulf StatesIranIraqKuwaitLebanon-SyriaOmanPalestineSaudi ArabiaSinaiTadzhikistanTürkiyeTurkmenistanYemenLesser Sunda Is.PakistanWest HimalayaAustriaBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaEast European RussiaFranceGreeceItalyKritiKrymNetherlandsNorthwest European RussiaNW. Balkan Pen.PortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine Sardegna
Native distribution of Lepidium sativum, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Austria AUT EUROPE
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
East European Russia RUE
France FRA
Greece GRC
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
Krym KRY
Netherlands NET
Northwest European Russia RUW
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Gulf States GST
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Kuwait KUW
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Oman OMA
Palestine PAL
Saudi Arabia SAU
Sinai SIN
Tadzhikistan TZK
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Yemen YEM
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI ASIA-TROPICAL
Pakistan PAK
West Himalaya WHM
Egypt EGY AFRICA

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 15 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Arabis chinensis Rottler ex Wight
  • Cardamon sativum (L.) Fourr.
  • Crucifera nasturtium E.H.L.Krause
  • Lepia sativa (L.) Desv.
  • Lepidium hortense Forssk.
  • Lepidium sativum subsp. sativum L.
  • Lepidium sativum var. crispum DC.
  • Lepidium sativum var. schimperi Thell.
  • Lepidium sativum var. silvestre Thell.
  • Lepidium sativum var. typicum Thell.
  • Nasturtium crispum Medik.
  • Nasturtium hortense Garsault
  • Nasturtium sativum (L.) Moench
  • Thlaspi sativum (L.) Crantz
  • Thlaspidium sativum (L.) Spach

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.