• Perennial Pepperweed Plant 215x150

Category C Weed

Mustard family (Brassicaceae)

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Perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium)

    Stem

    • Up to 6 ft. tall, semi-woody, waxy and lacks hair (glabrous); many stems can arise from each crown often branched near top; branches arise from leaf axils

      Leaves

      • Alternate, oval to lance-shaped, mostly 3-12 in. long, 1-3 in. wide, green to gray-green, lack hair and waxy; edges (margins) smooth to toothed and can also be curled; leaf bases DO NOT clasp stem; lower leaves larger than upper leaves

        Flower

        • Small and white with 4 petals; arranged in dense clusters at the tips of stems

        • Seed pods are round, flattened, less than 0.1 in. diameter, usually covered with hairs; each has 2 chambers, each with 1 seed

          Root

          • Creeping root system

            Other

            • Grows best on moist sites; often found in floodplains, pastures, meadows, hay fields and along waterways; known to occur in all Nevada counties

            • Perennial; reproduces by roots and seed

            • Also known as tall whitetop

              Control

              • Mowing, digging, tillage, burning and grazing established stands are NOT effective

              • Apply metsulfuron or chlorsulfuron to actively growing plants through early-bloom; imazapic from full-bloom until plants become necrotic; 2,4-D and glyphosate at bud to flower can be effective if repeated for several years