Flora of New Zealand Series

miner's cress

Biennial. Stems ascending to erect, branching above, to 60 cm tall, with short, curved hairs, sometimes glabrous below. Lvs finely papillate at least beneath. Basal and lower stem lvs falling at fruiting, deeply toothed to pinnatifid. Upper lvs oblanceolate, toothed, becoming linear, entire or 3-fid at apex, 10-15-(30) × 1-2-(5) mm. Racemes (5)-8-12 cm long; rachis and upper side of pedicels shortly hairy; pedicels erecto-patent, 2-2.5 mm long at fruiting. Fls minute, densely crowded; sepals glabrous, green, c. 1 × 0.4 mm. Petals white, minute or 0. Stamens 2. Silicle c. 2.5 × 2-2.5 mm, circular to broadly obovate; style very short; stigma included in narrow notch; valves pale brown, glabrous. Seeds brown, ovoid, very narrowly winged, c. 1.2 mm long.

S.: C. Otago.

N. America 1948

Dry roadsides, stony waste land.

Two other Lepidium spp. in N.Z. have almost circular, but larger, silicles; they may be distinguished as follows: L. virginicum has petals > sepals and L. bonariense has pinnatifid upper stem lvs.