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Lepidium sativum
Also called Gardencress pepperweed, Cultivated Cress, Garden Cress Pepperweed, Garden Peppergrass, Garden Pepperwort, Pepperwort, Tongue Cress
Garden cress is a fast-growing annual herb in the cabbage family, grown mainly for its peppery, tangy leaves and sprouts. It is quick from seed and thrives in cool, moist conditions.
Cress (Lepidium sativum), sometimes referred to as garden cress (or curly cress) to distinguish it from similar plants also referred to as cress (from Old English cresse), is a fast-growing, edible herb.
Garden cress is genetically related to watercress and mustard, sharing their peppery, tangy flavour and aroma. In some regions, garden cress is known as mustard and cress, garden pepper cress, pepperwort, pepper grass, or poor man's pepper.
Garden cress is added to soups, sandwiches and salads for its tangy flavour. It is also eaten as sprouts, and the fresh or dried seed pods can be used as a peppery seasoning (haloon). In the United Kingdom, cut cress shoots are commonly used in sandwiches with boiled eggs and mayonnaise.
Field pepperweed · Common pepperweed · Maca · Mountain pepperweed · Shining pepperweed · Cook's scurvy grass · Clasping pepperweed · Featherleaf pepperweed · Virginia pepperweed · Pepperweed
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Garden cress by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
