Lepidium draba L. (1753)
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Canada
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
United States
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
More info for the terms: cover, forbs, nonnative species
In North America, hoary cress is most commonly found in grainfields, hayfields, and
on roadsides. In many areas where alfalfa is or has been grown, especially in western North
America, any of the 3 hoary cress species may occur with Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens) and other
nonnative species that were imported as contaminants of Turkestan alfalfa seed
in the early 1900s [35]. Movement of hoary cress from cultivated fields to adjacent rangelands is
a concern and is apparently becoming more common [60].
In Saskatchewan, lens-podded and globe-podded hoary cress are found in brome
(Bromus spp.) and alfalfa fields and in other areas of disturbance
such as gardens, feed lots, and along watercourses. These 2 species have also been found on
native grassland sites dominated by
western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii). Silver sagebrush (A. cana), black
greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus), Nuttall's saltbush (Atriplex nuttallii),
rose (Rosa spp.), and western snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis)
may also be present [85,86].
According to Miller and others [64], heart-podded hoary cress migrates from
cultivated fields to adjacent semiarid upland sites dominated by big sagebrush communities in eastern Oregon, where it may be
found in many seral stages. It is apparently well-adapted to sites with
relatively dry, shallow soil that are dominated by Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia
tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) and crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum).
Bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicatum) and Thurber
needlegrass (Achnatherum thurberianum) may also occur. Heart-podded hoary
cress is also found
on sites dominated by basin big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp.
tridentata) and crested wheatgrass, where basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus)
may also occur. Heart-podded hoary cress is found in communities seeded to desert
wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum) and crested wheatgrass [64].
Heart-podded hoary cress was common on study sites in southwestern Montana that were
dominated by antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), rough fescue (Festuca
altaica) and/or bluebunch wheatgrass,
and spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) [37].
Along the middle Snake River in Idaho, heart-podded hoary cress is found in transitional
grass-shrub communities with species such as saltgrass (Distichlis spicata),
cheatgrass (B. tectorum), beardless wildrye (L. triticoides),
Wood's rose (Rosa woodsii), western poison-ivy (Toxicodendron
rydbergii), fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), and weedy forbs such as
summer-cypress (Kochia scoparia) and Russian-thistle (Salsola kali) [23].
Near Utah Lake, heart-podded hoary cress is found in 6- to 9.6-year-old saltcedar (Tamarix
ramosissima) communities with saltgrass,
summer-cypress, povertyweed (Iva axillaris), rabbitfoot-grass (Polypogon monspeliensis),
and spear saltbush (Atriplex patula) [13,14].
Pyke [76] lists globe-podded hoary cress among those nonnative plants that are highly
invasive and competitive in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems in the Intermountain West. In Nevada, globe-podded hoary cress
also occurs in communities dominated by
willow (Salix spp.), sagebrush, and pinyon-juniper (Pinus-Juniperus
spp.) [45].
Along the Bighorn River in Wyoming, nonnative, invasive plants such as globe-podded
hoary cress, Russian knapweed, and Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) often
dominate herbaceous cover in shrublands associated with saltcedar (T. chinensis),
but are generally rare in native shrublands. In open portions of native
woodland that have been disturbed by fire and/or grazed by livestock, globe-podded
hoary cress, halogeton (Halogeton glomeratus), and Russian-thistle are
sometimes locally abundant. These native shrublands are dominated by species such as sandbar willow (S. exigua),
skunkbush sumac (Rhus trilobata), rubber rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus),
big sagebrush, black greasewood, western snowberry, and Wood's rose [1].
More info for the term: forb
Forb
Lepidium draba (whitetop or hoary cress[1]) is native to western Asia and eastern Europe and is an invasive species in North America, introduced by contaminated seeds in the early 1900s.
Whitetop is a perennial herb that reproduces by seeds and by horizontal creeping roots. The stem is stoutish, erect or spreading, 10 to 80 cm tall, branched, covered sparsely with ash-colored soft hairs to heavily covered. The leaves are alternating, simple, and mostly toothed. The basal leaves are 4 to 10 cm, have a slight stem (petiole), and are long and flat, lance-shaped to egg-shaped, with the narrow end attached to the stalk. On the upper part of the stem the leaves are attached directly to the stalk (sessile), are 2 to 6.5 cm long, and are oblong or tapering the point, with broad bases that clasp the stalk. Whitetop has slightly domed flower clusters in which the individual flower stalks grow upward from various points off the branch to approximately the same height (corymb-like). The petals are white, clawed, and 3 to 5 mm long, about twice the length of the sepals.
Distribution in United States[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "BSBI List 2007" (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
Agriculture Research Service (1970) "Cardaria draba (L.) Deav." Selected Weeds of the United States Agriculture Research Service United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, p. 200
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
| Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lepidium_draba&oldid=644542304 |
Canada
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
United States
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
| Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Cardaria+draba |
More info on this topic.
This species is known to occur in association with the following Rangeland Cover Types (as classified by the Society for Range Management, SRM):
More info for the term: cover
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES [89]:
101 Bluebunch wheatgrass
102 Idaho fescue
103 Green fescue
104 Antelope bitterbrush-bluebunch wheatgrass
105 Antelope bitterbrush-Idaho fescue
107 Western juniper/big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass
109 Ponderosa pine shrubland
110 Ponderosa pine-grassland
201 Blue oak woodland
202 Coast live oak woodland
203 Riparian woodland
209 Montane shrubland
210 Bitterbrush
214 Coastal prairie
215 Valley grassland
217 Wetlands
301 Bluebunch wheatgrass-blue grama
302 Bluebunch wheatgrass-Sandberg bluegrass
303 Bluebunch wheatgrass-western wheatgrass
304 Idaho fescue-bluebunch wheatgrass
305 Idaho fescue-Richardson needlegrass
306 Idaho fescue-slender wheatgrass
307 Idaho fescue-threadleaf sedge
309 Idaho fescue-western wheatgrass
310 Needle-and-thread-blue grama
311 Rough fescue-bluebunch wheatgrass
312 Rough fescue-Idaho fescue
314 Big sagebrush-bluebunch wheatgrass
315 Big sagebrush-Idaho fescue
316 Big sagebrush-rough fescue
317 Bitterbrush-bluebunch wheatgrass
318 Bitterbrush-Idaho fescue
319 Bitterbrush-rough fescue
320 Black sagebrush-bluebunch wheatgrass
321 Black sagebrush-Idaho fescue
322 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany-bluebunch wheatgrass
323 Shrubby cinquefoil-rough fescue
324 Threetip sagebrush-Idaho fescue
401 Basin big sagebrush
402 Mountain big sagebrush
403 Wyoming big sagebrush
404 Threetip sagebrush
405 Black sagebrush
406 Low sagebrush
407 Stiff sagebrush
408 Other sagebrush types
409 Tall forb
411 Aspen woodland
412 Juniper-pinyon woodland
413 Gambel oak
415 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany
416 True mountain-mahogany
417 Littleleaf mountain-mahogany
418 Bigtooth maple
419 Bittercherry
420 Snowbrush
421 Chokecherry-serviceberry-rose
422 Riparian
509 Transition between K031 and K037
601 Bluestem prairie
604 Bluestem-grama prairie
605 Sandsage prairie
606 Wheatgrass-bluestem-needlegrass
607 Wheatgrass-needlegrass
608 Wheatgrass-grama-needlegrass
609 Wheatgrass-grama
610 Wheatgrass
611 Blue grama-buffalo grass
612 Sagebrush-grass
613 Fescue grassland
614 Crested wheatgrass
615 Wheatgrass-saltgrass-grama
710 Bluestem prairie
714 Grama-bluestem
801 Savanna
802 Missouri prairie
803 Missouri glades
804 Tall fescue
805 Riparian
Information regarding hoary cress response to fire is not available in the literature. Asher and others [6] make a reference to postfire spread of hoary cress, stating, "recent examples of severe postfire weed spread and impacts include...hoary cress near Worland, Wyoming", but no additional information is given.
Hoary cress is likely to sprout following removal of top-growth by fire. This is the case with mowed hoary cress plants, which sprout even after repeated cutting [9,21,60,84]. Corns and Frankton [21] cite evidence that the roots of hoary cress may successfully resist complete inhibition (method not given) of top-growth for an entire season without noticeable loss in vigor.
More research is needed in this area.
There can be no doubt that the above cited specimen is true C.draba. It appears to be a recent introduction in our area. Careful collection may now reveal its wider occurrence in W. Pakistan also. The seeds have spicy flavour and may be used as a substitute for pepper.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200009358 |
Hoary cress is native to southwestern Asia and has been introduced to every continent except Antarctica [66]. There is evidence that all 3 species were introduced to many locations in North America as contaminants in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) seed from Turkestan in the early 1900s up until around 1922 [35,67]. Turkestan alfalfa and its associated weeds are more common in the West because this type of alfalfa did not grow well in the more humid regions of the east [35]. Plants database provides a distributional map of hoary cress and the 3 individual species.
Lens-podded hoary cress is native to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and also occurs (but is likely not native) in Pakistan, northern India, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Israel. It has been introduced to England, Argentina, and North America. Lens-podded hoary cress was 1st collected in the U.S. in California, in 1918 and in Alberta, Canada, in 1926 [67]. It is a common field weed in central and western Canada and the U.S., but is rare in eastern North America [67,98]. Lens-podded hoary cress is most invasive of the 3 hoary cress species in Canada, particularly in irrigated areas of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia [66].
The 1900s was not the earliest introduction of heart-podded hoary cress to North America. It was probably initially introduced by early American settlers from Europe, possibly as an ornamental or garden plant. It was collected in 1862 on Long Island, New York, and in 1878 in Ontario [35]. It was likely introduced multiple times and from other places since then [67]. Heart-podded hoary cress is native to the Balkan Peninsula, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, southern Russia, Turkey, Israel, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Heart-podded hoary cress is the least abundant of the hoary cresses in Canada, where it occurs primarily in southern Manitoba and southern Alberta [66]. It occurs throughout the U.S. except in southern portions of California (Mojave and Colorado deserts) and the south-central states [20,60]. It appears to be most invasive in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) ecosystems in eastern Oregon, where it occupies >100,000 ha ([64] and references therein).
Globe-podded hoary cress is native to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, northern Iran, and Afghanistan, and can be found in Argentina and North America. It is a common weed in central and western Canada and the U. S., but is rare in eastern North America. It was 1st collected in the U.S. in Michigan in 1919, and in Alberta, Canada in 1926 [67]. Globe-podded hoary cress occurs in the same areas as lens-podded hoary cress and is frequently associated with it in Canada and the U.S. [66].
Hoary cress is primarily a weed of agricultural lands and disturbed sites such as roadsides and railways. Reports of its occurrence in wildlands or rangelands are rare. The following biogeographic classification systems are presented to demonstrate where hoary cress might be present or invasive, based on reported occurrence and biological tolerance to factors likely to limit its distribution. Precise distribution information is unavailable. Therefore, these lists are speculative and not exhaustive, and hoary cress may be present and possibly invasive in other vegetation types.
More info on this topic.
This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):
More info for the term: cover
SAF COVER TYPES [26]:
14 Northern pin oak
16 Aspen
39 Black ash-American elm-red maple
42 Bur oak
62 Silver maple-American elm
63 Cottonwood
95 Black willow
109 Hawthorn
210 Interior Douglas-fir
211 White fir
217 Aspen
220 Rocky Mountain juniper
222 Black cottonwood-willow
233 Oregon white oak
235 Cottonwood-willow
236 Bur oak
237 Interior ponderosa pine
238 Western juniper
239 Pinyon-juniper
240 Arizona cypress
246 California black oak
249 Canyon live oak
250 Blue oak-foothills pine
255 California coast live oak