"Common yellowcress "

Description

Rorippa palustris, (synonyms:Rorippa islandica) marsh yellow cress, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is widespread and native to parts of Africa, and much of Asia, Europe and Eurasia, North America and the Caribbean. It can also be found in other parts of the world as an introduced species and a common weed, for example, in Australia and South America. It is an adaptable plant which grows in many types of damp, wet, and aquatic habitat. It may be an annual, biennial, or perennial plant, and is variable in appearance as well. It produces an erect stem, sometimes with branches, attaining a maximum height of just over one meter. The leaves are up to 30 centimeters long and have toothed to deeply lobed edges. The inflorescence is a raceme of mustardlike flowers with spoon-shaped yellow petals each a few millimeters in length. The fruit is a dehiscent and smoothly valved silicle, up to a centimeter long, and containing anywhere from 20 to 90 minute seeds. Rorippa is a flowering plant genus in the family Brassicaceae, native to Europe through central Asia, Africa, and North America. Rorippa species are annual to perennial herbs, usually with yellow flowers and a peppery flavour. They are known commonly as yellowcresses. Rorippa formerly included several species of watercress, now placed in the genus Nasturtium. In particular, R. nasturtium-aquaticum (now N. officinale) and R. microphylla (now N. microphyllum) are often referred to as species of Rorippa.