Lepidium virginicum from Kud, Jammu & Kashmir

[Gurcharan Singh]

Lepidium virginicum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 645. 1753.

Annual or biennial herb up to 60 cm tall, branched above; leaves oblanceolate or spathulate, pinnatifid or lyrate, upper serrate or subentire; pedicels glabrous; sepals 0.7-1 mm long, pilose outside; petals longer than sepals, 1-1.5 mm long, white, spathulate; stamens 2-4; fruit orbicular, 2.5-3.5 mm, narrowly winged at apex, glabrous, apical notch 0.2-0.5 mm; style 0.1-0.2 mm long.

The species is quite distint among small fruited species (less than 4 mm long) in its petals which are longer than sepals, slightly larger glabrous fruits, and narrow apical wings.

Photographed from Kud, Jammu & Kashmir, growing along roadsides. Photographed in June.

I Feel that the plant uploaded by Dinesh ji at Flowers of India website may not be this species. It has much larger fruits (compare with flower size) and looks similar to my Lepidium sativum also depicted at the same website.

--
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/