Flora of New Zealand Series

hoary cress

Rhizomatous perennial, forming large patches; rootstock branching. Stems erect, (10)-25-60 cm tall, bearing short arching simple hairs. Lvs dull green to glaucous, covered with fine short hairs. Lower lvs oblanceolate to obovate, cuneately narrowed to long petiole, entire or distantly dentate, withering before flowering; lamina (2)-3-6-(9) × (1)-2-3 cm. Upper lvs sessile, ovate to narrowly triangular, amplexicaul, entire or toothed, (1)-3-6-(10) × (0.5)-1-2-(3) cm. Panicle 6-10-(15) cm long at fruiting; pedicels erecto-patent at flowering, spreading at fruiting, 6-12 mm long. Sepals glabrous, 1.5-2 mm long. Petals white, narrow, 3-4 × 0.5-1 mm. Silicle broadly ovate or cordate, not strongly flattened, (2)-3-4-(6) × (3)-4-6 mm, smaller when seedless; valves usually reticulate-veined. Seeds brown, c. 2 mm long.

N.; S.

S.W. Asia, Europe 1904

Waste places and cultivated fields throughout.

N.Z. plants belong to subsp. draba. Hoary cress is a persistent and troublesome weed in places because of its rhizomatous habit. Flowering is usually synchronous over large areas. Hoary cress has also been referred to as Lepidium draba in N.Z.