Smith's pepperwort

Smith’s pepperwort (Lepidium heterophyllum) is known by several other names, including “Smith’s cress” and “hairy pepperwort”. The Smith in question was the botanist Sir James Edward Smith (1759-1828) and the plant was named in his honour by the first director of the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew, namely Sir William Hooker.

Smith’s pepperwort grows alongside roads and paths, and on arable land, in England, Wales and southern Scotland. It is generally regarded as a weed, although some members of the pepperwort family have been cultivated for the peppery taste of their leaves. The cress of “mustard and cress” is a pepperwort.

The stems of Smith’s pepperwort grow upright, often branching from near the ground. The narrow triangular leaves grow straight off the stems, without stalks. The tiny white flowers grow in clusters and can be seen from May to August. The seed-pods form on stalks as the flower-stems grow higher. The maximum height of the plant is 36 inches (90 centimetres).

© John Welford