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Taxon  Report  
Lepidium chalepense  L.
Lens-podded hoary cress
Lepidium chalepense is an annual or perennial herb that is not native to California.
Cal-IPC rating: moderate
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Observation Search
~629 records in California
redone or more occurrences
within a 7.5-minute quadrangle
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Bloom Period
Genus: Lepidium
Family: Brassicaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF

Alternate Names:
JEFCardaria chalepensis
JEFCardaria draba ssp. chalepensis
Information about  Lepidium chalepense from other sources

[Cal-IPC] Invasiveness: Lepidium chalepense (lens-podded whitetop) is a perennial (family Brassicaceae) that is relatively infrequent in California. Lepidium draba (hoary cress) and L. chalepense grow in the many habitats and areas of the state, except in the Mojave and Colorado deserts. However, L. draba occurs in wet and dry grasslands, scrubs, and arid areas with alkali soils and is much more common than lens-podded whitetop. Lepidium draba establishes monospecific mats that exclude most or all other herbaceous vegetation. L. chalepense forms dense infestations that crowd out forage plants in meadows and fields. (contributed by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 04/28/2024).