''Lepidium phlebopetalum'', commonly known as veined peppercress, is a plant of the Brassicaceae family that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to parts of Australia.

Description

The annual or perennial herbaceous plants are tall or have a sprawling habitat. The leaves are leathery to succulent, lanceolate to linear, obtuse, up to long, wide, and alternating up the stems. At times, leaves are absent due to dry conditions. The flowers (

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s) contain four petals that are white with purple veins and four

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s that are slightly shorter, in racemes, which lengthen as the fruiting bodies mature. The fruit produced by the plant is dehiscent, meaning that it is non-fleshy. The plant has scale-like seed pods.

Etymology

In the binomial name; ''Lepidium phlebopetalum'', the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

– ''Lepidium'', comes from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''lepidium'', derived from Greek ''lepidion'', meaning 'a little scale'. This refers to the scale-shaped seed pods present on the plant. The

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

name, ''phlebopetalum'', derives from the Greek words ''phléps'', meaning " vein" (phlebo-), and ''pétalon'', meaning "leaf", referring to its petals.

Habitat and range

''Lepidium phlebopetalum'' are often located in arid and semi-arid regions, in relatively bare sites with crusting red clay loam soils. They are found mainly in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. Listed as Endangered in Victoria, there have only been some recorded sightings in the far northwest region. It becomes abundant after rain and the flowers are present most of the year depending on the region, with an influx of blooming in spring.

History

''Lepidium phlebopetalum'' was first mentioned by German-Australian botanist, Ferdinand von Mueller, in 1860. There are 150 species of '' Lepidium'' globally. In Australia, there are 43 species, 35 of which are

and 8 species of which have become naturalized. ''Lepidium'' species are found in all Australian states.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q15432191 phlebopetalum Plants described in 1862 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Flora of Western Australia Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (state) Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of the Northern Territory