Cook Islands Biodiversity Database

Species Page

Back to: «« Search Page | « Results Page

Add to My List

Lepidium virginicum

Naunau (AK)

Peppergrass Weed

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Plant, flowers and fruit	55KB
Image:	Plant in flower (Illustration)	137KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Peppergrass Weed, Wild Peppergrass, Virginian Peppergrass

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Naunau (AK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.USA

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine,

KEY FEATURES: A herb to about 15cm, with a basal rosette of leaves with others along the stalk and branches, and a long flower stalk. The basal rosette leaves are divided pinnately into small toothed leaflets with a large terminal toothed leaflet. The upper leaves are simple and toothed. The flowers are tiny, terminal and white. The solitary fruits are flat discs ±3mmØ on thin 4mm stalks.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Native Peppergrass (Lepidium bidentatum) is distinguished by its larger oval fruit (4x6.5mm) and its simple leaves with up to 2 teeth per side.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+++	+++	-	++		++++	-		?++L

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Lepidium virginicum Linnaeus
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); DILLENIIDAE; Capparales; BRASSICACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.409 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.370 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM04b, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
Please refer to our use policy.

Biodiversity Database: More Options | Help

My List: View List | Edit List | Clear List