Sisymbrium officinale(L.) Scop.

English watercresshairypod hedgemustardhedge mustardhedgemustard

WFO wfo-0000432010 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Sisymbrium officinale, photographed by Andrew Skotnicki
fig. a Andrew Skotnicki, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-12 / obs. 205958760
Sisymbrium officinale, photographed by David Lazarus
fig. b David Lazarus, CC0 1.0 / obs. 205499590
Sisymbrium officinale, photographed by Daniel Cahen
fig. c Daniel Cahen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 205522151
Sisymbrium officinale, photographed by Jeff Clark
fig. d Jeff Clark, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 203694832
Sisymbrium officinale, photographed by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas
fig. e Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 203425125
Sisymbrium officinale, photographed by Thomas
fig. f Thomas, CC0 1.0 / obs. 202518149
Sisymbrium officinale, photographed by Daniel Cahen
fig. g Daniel Cahen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 199782376
Sisymbrium officinale, photographed by Pavel Kacl
fig. h Pavel Kacl, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 199428800

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 55 botanical countries

Regions where Sisymbrium officinale is native: Algeria, Azores, Canary Is., Libya, Madeira, Morocco, Selvagens, Tunisia, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Palestine, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Albania, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine AlgeriaLibyaMoroccoSelvagensTunisiaCyprusEast Aegean Is.IranIraqKazakhstanKirgizstanLebanon-SyriaNorth CaucasusPalestineTranscaucasusTürkiyeAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryItalyKritiKrymNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine AzoresCanary Is.MadeiraBalearesSardegna
Native distribution of Sisymbrium officinale, 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
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baleares BAL
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
Krym KRY
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Cyprus CYP ASIA-TEMPERATE
East Aegean Is. EAI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Lebanon-Syria LBS
North Caucasus NCS
Palestine PAL
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Azores AZO
Canary Is. CNY
Libya LBY
Madeira MDR
Morocco MOR
Selvagens SEL
Tunisia TUN

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 22 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.

  • Chamaeplium officinale Wallr.
  • Crucifera sisymbrium E.H.L.Krause
  • Erysimum officinale L.
  • Erysimum officinale var. leiocarpum (DC.) Farw.
  • Erysimum runcinatum Gilib.
  • Erysimum vulgare Rupr.
  • Hesperis niagarensis Kuntze
  • Hesperis officinalis Kuntze
  • Hesperis ruderalis Kuntze
  • Kibera officinalis Calest.
  • Phryne vulgaris Bubani
  • Sisymbrium niagarense E.Fourn.
  • Sisymbrium officinale subsp. leiocarpum (DC.) Piper & Beattie
  • Sisymbrium officinale var. genuinum Briq.
  • Sisymbrium officinale var. leiocarpum DC.
  • Sisymbrium officinale var. officinale Scop.
  • Sisymbrium officinarum Crantz
  • Valarum officinale Schur
  • Velarum leiocarpum (DC.) Tzvelev
  • Velarum officinale Rchb.
  • Velarum officinale subsp. leiocarpum (DC.) Tzvelev
  • Velarum tzvelevii V.I.Dorof.

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.